CANDIDATES in a Scottish by-election are set to face questions from anti-nuclear weapon campaigners in a hustings organised for next month.
A by-election has been called in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency in South Lanarkshire following the death of Christina McKelvie aged 57.
The SNP, Reform, Scottish Tories and Scottish Labour have all announced candidates in the race which will take place on June 5.
The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND) has announced a hustings is set to be held in May where voters will be able to express their concerns and put questions around nuclear weapons and power to the candidates.
Lynn Jamieson, SCND chair, said while the Scottish Parliament has no control over defence policy, campaigners still want to see MSPs assert their opposition to nuclear weapons on Scotland's West Coast and nuclear power stations.
She said: "There are around 240 nuclear bombs based in Scotland along with their delivery systems. That makes us one of the top targets in Europe.
"While Holyrood does not control defence policy, we need the Scottish Parliament to campaign for Scottish interests by asserting its opposition to the nuclear weapons based in Scotland’s West Coast.
"We support the current position of the majority at Holyrood in opposing any new nuclear power stations and we want to see that policy continue.
"Scotland is rich in renewable energy and is increasingly a net exporter of electricity. This is a meeting for voters to question candidates and to express their views."
Loudon, an SNP councillor in South Lanarkshire, ran for the SNP in the General Election as well as the Rutherglen by-election in 2023.
She has pledged to "build on the legacy" of McKelvie through her passion for social justice.
Nelson is also a councillor in South Lanarkshire but has also been revealed to have a side job as a "comedy hypnotist".
Lambie represents the Clydesdale South ward on South Lanarkshire Council and defected to Reform UK from the Tories earlier this year.
Russell, a former business partner of Rangers interim head coach Barry Ferguson and Anas Sarwar's brother Asim, officially launched his campaign last Friday but had to apologise over the weekend after getting the pope's name wrong in an email sent to party members.
The SCND hustings will be held at St John's Church in Hamilton at 7pm on May 14.
