A local Scottish Labour campaign video has been branded an “embarrassment” as it features a former candidate who was ousted from selection for anti-Catholic comments.
Vanessa Shand had been hoping to be elected to Perth and Kinross Council for Scottish Labour, but was forced to withdraw her selection back in March over past social media comments.
In the comments she defended a soldier charged over the Bloody Sunday massacre and claimed the SNP want to create a “Catholic monarchy” in Scotland.
However despite removing her from the ballot paper, a promotional video from the party was still circulating on social media featuring Ms Shand until Monday night.
Social media comments
The former candidate faced criticism for a logo reading “I stand with soldier F” on her Twitter account, referring to the former paratrooper charged over the Derry Bloody Sunday killings in 1972.
Soldier F faced accusations he murdered two people, but the charges against him were later dropped by a court.
She also took a swipe at Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey for having Catholic parents from Northern Ireland.
And she previously tweeted: “So that’s the SNP’s game! They want to replace the UK monarchy with a Catholic monarchy! Well I never.”
It is understood a Scottish Labour member had complained about her tweets back in 2020.
However at the end of March the comments were made public by the media and Scottish Labour confirmed she was no longer standing for the party.
At the time Scottish Labour said it would “act on evidence that any candidate has fallen short of these standards”.
‘Embarrassment’ for local party
Despite this an election campaign video featuring Ms Shand remained public for a further three weeks, until it was removed on Monday night.
The video, uploaded to social media by Perth and Kinross Labour, features a number of council hopefuls stating some of the party’s priorities and commitments for the upcoming election.
In the video Ms Shand said: “We believe in more than just clapping for carers.”
Maurice Golden, Conservative MSP for the North East, said Scottish Labour needs to do more to distance itself from Ms Shand.
He said: “This is an embarrassment for the local Labour party in Perth and Kinross.
“The candidate had to step down after shocking tweets were revealed, yet this post is still prominent on the party’s social media pages.
“Voters locally will be left wondering if Labour have not completely disowned this individual despite the fact she is no longer standing for election.
“They might even be forgiven for thinking she is still seeking to be elected, given it hasn’t been taken down.
“The Labour Party must be clear that this candidate no longer enjoys their support.”
Video removed from social media
Since we contacted the Scottish Labour Party on the matter, the video has been removed from social media.
Currently Perth and Kinross Council has only one Labour councillor, Alasdair Bailey, who represents the Carse of Gowrie ward.
The party is fielding seven candidates in Perth and Kinross in the May 5 election.
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