Interview with Linda Clark, SNP candidate for Forfar, Angus

 Interview with Linda Clark, SNP candidate for Forfar, Angus

• Why an SNP candidate in Forfar?

For me, Forfar is a new area because my husband and I retired here after being councillors in another part of Scotland, so we retired and came here, and we did some voluntary work, which is how we started in the first place. The necessity for an SNP candidate on the Angus council, which is where Forfar is within, is because I firmly believe that the SNP will produce an egalitarian and humanitarian approach for the people of Forfar. I don’t have anything against the people who are running the council right now, but they don’t have the same values that I have. I formly believe my values are correct, to look after the vulnerable people with a socialist attitude that I have. 

• What are the main issues you want to prioritise in this campaign?

The main things I want to see are in planning and development: I want to make sure that developers ensure that people live within a 20 minute radius of services, which includes getting to your doctor without having to use cars all the time (because I have an environmental attitude to things), getting to school; and that there’s not too many houses built, which makes the numbers for schools too much; and I want to make sure that when planners / developers ask to have their planning applications granted, they hear to Scottish planning policy, which is a good one and endorses all the things that I’ve said; and because I’ve been a councillor before planning was very important to me.

I also want to make sure that people have local jobs so that they don’t have to travel too far. I want to make sure that people who are poorer have a better start in life, that young families get a better chance; and we can’t do that unless we produce good housing, opportunities for jobs, good food, etc. These are priorities because with COVID and coming out of Europe we have to make sure that our money goes as far as it can. The economy is suffering at the moment. 

I want to see solar panels, we do get some sun in Scotland, believe it or not, so I want to use the sun to get away from fossil fuels, and we also have plenty power in the seas of Scotland that we could be using.

• Why is the SNP the alternative to the other parties in the area?

I have nothing against them personally, I want to work with everybody, if I get elected I will work perhaps in coalition, but I do believe that if the SNP gets in, it has much more concern with Scotland and all who live in Scotland. The Westminster government’s interests are very different to ours. Scotland is autonomist in its belief of its people, we are very jealous of our NHS as an example. I really feel that as an SNP candidate that my values are the ones which I feel are better for Scotland.