Latest news with #EvaKestner
The National
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
I tracked down Scottish Labour's London MSP candidate
TO Lewisham Town Hall, south London, there – somewhat improbably – to try and bump into Scottish Labour's candidate for Caithness at next year's Holyrood election. Some context: Labour have been taking pelters for selecting Eva Kestner, a councillor in London, as their candidate for the Highland seat. Her current patch is around 700 miles away from the constituency she supposedly wants to represent. Of course, Kestner knows she has about as much chance of becoming the MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross as I do of becoming pope. Which is to say, remote but not completely impossible. But that's not what she told me on Wednesday evening. We'd yet to hear from the woman herself despite her taking a fair pasting on social media for being 'parachuted' into the seat last week. So we decided I'd go out to Lewisham Town Hall for the next annual general meeting of the council, to see if I might be able to grab Kestner for a quick interview while she was heading in. Eva Kestner is a Labour councillor in London ... running to be an MSP in Caithness, 650 miles away. 🥀 We approached her in London, where she squirmed through questions about the biggest issues facing Caithness - and denied being a paper candidate. — The National (@ScotNational) May 8, 2025 I got off the train and immediately saw a Portobello Brewing Pubco boozer, the Catford Bridge Tavern. Brilliant, I thought, there's a Scottish link right there. Sadly, I later found out that the titular Portobello refers to a part of London, not the sandy bit of Edinburgh. As I got closer, I spied a solicitor's office under the name 'Morrison and Spowart'. How Scottish can you get? Catford was feeling more and more like home with every step I took. Perhaps there was some Passport to Pimlico thing going on and Lewisham was actually an exclave of Scotland according to some long-lost treaty from the Wars of Independence. Robert the Bruce used to own property in Tottenham before Edward II nicked it off him, after all. The prospect of some ancient thane of Catford rattling around my mind, I got to the building and was roused from my daydreams by a small protest which had assembled outside the town hall. READ MORE: SNP national secretary 'threatens' members amid 'stitch up' claims They were there to protest Labour's benefits cuts. Lewisham, for the uninitiated, is effectively a one-party state. There is just one opposition councillor, a lonely Green. I asked around a bit to see if anyone had ever heard of Eva Kestner. Blank looks all round. A very pushy man tried to sell me a Trotskyist newspaper and produced a card machine when I told him I unfortunately had no cash. He said we thought we should have a general strike and I found myself very much in agreement if it meant he'd take the day off. Just as I was beginning to lose hope, I felt that instant twinge of recognition as I spied someone out the corner of my eye. Was that … ? Could it be that woman in pink smoking a fag … ? 'Eva!' I shouted, practically running up to her. She had just tossed the dowt and was heading back inside. I began filming, slightly breathless. Kestner, to her credit, was more game than I'd been expecting. She answered all the questions I put to her and didn't tell me to do one, which is what I'd have done in her shoes. She insisted she was a 'serious candidate', which given the ridiculousness of our interaction, I think we both knew was a lie. Her local connections? She 'worked for MSPs up there' back in the day. Game, yes. Convincing, less so. But that is a matter for the good people of Caithness. When Kestner ran for the equivalent seat in last year's Westminster election, they rewarded her with 3000 votes. She'd have had to double that just to get into second place. I don't think she'll be hiring a moving van any time soon. You can get The Worst of Westminster delivered straight to your email inbox every Friday at 6pm for FREE by clicking here.
The National
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Scottish Labour London MSP hopeful squirms in 'paper candidate' grilling
The National asked Lewisham councillor Eva Kestner about her bid to become the MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross outside a local authority meeting in south London on Wednesday evening. Asked whether she was a paper candidate, Kestner said: 'No, I'm not.'. Kestner insisted she would 'absolutely' move to the constituency, which is 650 miles away from the English capital, and claimed to have 'lots of connections' to the Highland seat. Arguing that the biggest issues facing the area were 'access to healthcare' and the 'dire' transport connections, the London Labour councillor added: 'I am a serious candidate that seriously believes in that area. 'I have lots of connections.' Pressed on her links to Caithness, Kestner replied: 'I worked for MSPs up there for a really long time, that's where I started my political journey.' In response to mockery that her desired seat is hundreds of miles away from her home, she said: 'I mean, it is what it is.' Kestner is among a raft of candidates who have been accused of being 'parachuted' into seats, with a row breaking out about the SNP's candidate in the Hamilton by-election not living in the constituency. Katy Loudon, who is running to defend the seat after the death of SNP minister Christina McKelvie, lives in nearby Rutherglen. Kestner ran for the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seat at last year's General Election, but lost to LibDem Jamie Stone. She came third on 3409 votes, with Stone holding a majority of more than 10,000 votes. At the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021, the Holyrood Caithness seat was won by the SNP's Maree Todd, who had a 2000 vote majority over her LibDem rival. Labour came fourth in the seat, picking up just 2016 votes. Anas Sarwar's party were predicted in a poll published earlier this week to languish in third place after next year's Scottish Parliament elections. Scottish Labour were predicted to gain just 18 seats in a poll conducted by Survation for True North Advisers, which also put Reform on course to become the second-largest Holyrood party with 21 seats. The same poll said there would be a Yes majority in 2026, with 66 pro-independence MSPs elected. The upcoming Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election is being viewed as a key test ahead of next year's election on the question of whether Labour can translate their Scottish General Election victories into Holyrood success or whether the SNP could secure another five years in power.
The National
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Minister pans Labour for 'shipping in' London councillor to run in Highlands
Labour have selected Eva Kestner to contest the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross seat next year despite her living around 650 miles away in Lewisham, where she works as a councillor. It is the second time Anas Sarwar's party have selected her as a candidate for the area, after she ran in the General Election last year for the equivalent Westminster constituency. Public Health Minister Maree Todd, who currently represents the area for the SNP, said the area did not deserve to be represented by "more of the Prime Minister's cronies". READ MORE: What DWP powers to spy on bank accounts mean for you She said: "Given Labour's disastrous start in Government, it's no surprise that no one from Caithness, Sutherland and Ross is willing to back Keir Starmer as a local Labour candidate. 'Labour has form on shipping London-based candidates in to Scotland, and it's no wonder. "Labour is pulling out all the stops to support industry in England, but offering nothing for Scotland - particularly for my constituents in the Highlands. 'The people of the Highlands deserve real local champions – not more of the Prime Minister's cronies.' The selection of Kestner by Sarwar's party came in for heavy criticism on social media. Andrea Cowan, an SNP councillor in Rutherglen, questioned how the selection was acceptable after Scottish Labour accused the SNP of "parachuting" in Katy Loudon to contest the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. READ MORE: Tories demand John Swinney sacks SNP MSPs who backed Maggie Chapman Loudon does not live in the constituency but does stay just over the border in Rutherglen. She is hoping to keep the seat in SNP hands following the tragic death of Christina McKelvie last month. Cowan said on Twitter/X: "So, let's get this straight, a councillor from Lewisham, 650 miles from Caithness, is fine to stand for Labour in next year's Holyrood elections, but an experienced councillor from South Lanarkshire, standing in Hamilton is being parachuted in?" Last year, Labour were accused of "parachuting in paper candidates" as Kestner was among a raft of General Election picks based south of the Border. After Wilma Brown was removed as a candidate in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath following an outcry over "racist" social media posts, Melanie Ward ran in her place despite living in London. The party's candidate in Angus and Perthshire Glens was Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, who was a councillor based more than 500 miles away in the city of Canterbury, in Kent. Some of the other candidates from south of the Border who ran for Labour last year include Conor Savage who was selected to contest Orkney and Shetland despite living in Edinburgh. He previously stood in Bangor for Plaid Cymru. After being asked by The National why a London councillor had been chosen to run in the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross seat, a Scottish Labour spokesperson said Kestner grew up in Scotland and had previously worked in the Highlands and Islands. They said: 'The SNP has failed the Highlands and Islands for too long, but in 2026 we can choose a change in direction with Scottish Labour. 'All Scottish Labour candidates are democratically selected by local members and this candidates will be a fantastic champion for the communities where she is standing.'
