SCOTTISH Labour have been blasted for selecting a London councillor to stand in the Scottish Parliament elections next year.
It is the second time in less than a year Anas Sarwar's party have selected Eva Kestner to contest a seat in the Scottish Highlands.
The Lewisham councillor stood in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency in last year's General Election and has now been selected again to stand for Holyrood in the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross seat, currently held by the SNP's Maree Todd.
The seat is around 650 miles away from the area which Kestner represents as a councillor in southeast London.
The selection of Kestner by Sarwar's party has not gone unnoticed, with Scottish Labour coming 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.
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?"
So, let's get this straight, a Councillor from Lewisham, 650 miles from Caithness, is fine to stand for Labour in nexy year's Holyrood elections, but an experienced Councillor from South Lanarkshire, standing in Hamilton is being parachuted in 🙈 #VoteSNP https://t.co/bFg78SXRPV
— Cllr Andrea Cowan (@AndreaCowanSNP) April 30, 2025
Coll McCail shared the news of Kestner's selection and pointed out the huge distance between the two places.
He posted: "Scottish Labour has, once again, selected a sitting Lewisham Councillor to stand in Caithness. The seat is approximately 650 miles away from Eva’s current ward.
"Hell of a commute."
In the comments of Scottish Labour's post, many people questioned why she Kestner has been chosen to run in a seat in a completely different country.
"A councillor from Lewisham? Are you really that short on candidates that your poaching councillors from so far away?" said Helen Kelly.
Another user said: "Could you not find someone who’s a bit more local?"
James Ferry also tweeted: "Any reason why there wasn’t a more suitable local candidate? Are Labour in that much trouble in Scotland?"
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.
Scottish Labour have been approached for comment.
