Former SNP MP Angus Robertson launches 2021 Holyrood campaign
- Published
Angus Robertson was an MP from 2001 until 2017
The SNP's former leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, has launched his campaign to contest the Holyrood seat held by Ruth Davidson.
Mr Robertson is seeking to stand in Edinburgh Central at the 2021 election when Ms Davidson steps down.
The ex-Moray MP aims to overturn the Tories' "tiny" 610-vote majority.
He said it was a "key constituency for the SNP to secure a pro-independence majority in next year's Scottish parliamentary elections."
In a video posted on Twitter, Mr Robertson added: "I believe I can win here with the support of SNP members and voters of all parties who don't want to see the area represented by a pro-Brexit MSP."
The SNP's Joanna Cherry has previously said she plans to challenge Mr Robertson for the seat.
The Edinburgh South West MP confirmed she would step down from Westminster if she was elected.
Ms Davidson took the seat from the SNP at the last Scottish election in 2016.
But in October she announced she was unlikely to seek re-election, two months after she quit as Scottish Conservative leader. The party has since confirmed she will not be standing in the 2021 election.
Since then she accepted and then turned down a lucrative job with a lobbying firm and has been nominated for a seat in the House of Lords, external.
Ruth Davidson led the Scottish Conservatives from 2011 to 2019
Announcing his intention to contest the seat in February, Mr Robertson accused Ms Davidson of putting "other career interests in London ahead of the people she still represents at Holyrood" and argued that constituents "deserve better".
Mr Robertson also highlighted his links to the capital, having grown up in Stockbridge.
He said: "Edinburgh Central deserves a full-time MSP who will put the interests of their constituents first.
"At present, the heart of Scotland's capital city is represented by somebody who would prefer to be in the House of Lords and pursuing a career in public relations.
"Edinburgh Central needs an MSP that has a full-time commitment to their constituents and constituency, and the SNP needs a full-time candidate to win this important seat. I believe I am best placed to be that candidate.
"I will not pretend to constituents that I can be in two places at the same time."
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Before becoming an MP in 2001, Mr Robertson worked as a journalist, including for the BBC World Service as a foreign correspondent.
He was elected MP for Moray in 2001 and was appointed the SNP's defence and foreign affairs spokesman, a post he held for 14 years.
Mr Robertson led the party in the House of Commons from 2007 until he lost his Westminster seat to the Conservatives' Douglas Ross at the 2017 general election.
He has since worked as managing director of pro-independence think-tank and polling organisation Progress Scotland.
But he has long been linked with a return to frontline politics and has been tipped as a future SNP leader.
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