Voters go back to polls for Airdrie and Shotts by-election

Voters in Airdrie and Shotts are set to go to the polls for the second time in a week, this time to choose their local MP.

A Westminster by-election - triggered by the resignation of MP Neil Gray, who has just been elected the area's MSP - will be held on Thursday.

Who are the candidates, and what are the issues which might decide the contest?

The Airdrie and Shotts by-election will take place on the same day as former MP Neil Gray is sworn in as an MSP at Holyrood.

The SNP introduced new rules prior to the Holyrood contest stating that any of its MPs who wanted to contest Scottish Parliament seats would have to resign from Westminster in advance.

The idea was that this would mean the by-election could be on the same day, potentially saving money - but this ultimately did not happen in this case, with North Lanarkshire Council deciding it would be safer to separate the two votes.

Unlike the Holyrood election though, there will be an overnight count in the by-election - with the result expected in the early hours of Friday morning.

This was a safe Labour seat for many years, held by MPs including former Home Secretary John Reid and former Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell.

It was taken by the SNP in 2015, although Labour came within 195 votes of regaining it in 2017.

Mr Gray held the constituency with a fairly comfortable 13.1% majority in the 2019 general election, and won more than half of the vote in the Holyrood contest last week for a 17.1% majority.

The SNP has selected modern studies teacher Anum Qaisar-Javed in their bid to hold the seat, while Labour have put forward councillor Kenneth Stevenson - who was selected ahead of Pamela Nash, the former MP who held the seat until 2015.

Anum Qaisar-Javed said the SNP has a "strong track record" in the area

Both candidates stressed their focus on local issues in interviews with BBC Scotland.

Ms Qaisar-Javed pointed to her party's past defence of the Monklands Hospital, saying the SNP has a "really strong track record within the constituency".

She said: "I am a schoolteacher, I teach modern studies and politics, and having someone who is from a normal background can really help resonate with people."

Meanwhile Labour said Mr Stevenson would be a "local champion" who would focus on bringing high-tech jobs and investment to Airdrie and Shotts.

He told BBC Scotland: "What I've been campaigning on is to bring jobs to the area, we are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, and I don't see anything that's been bought this area - that's something I'll be fighting for."

The national picture may also play a part in the local contest, with tactical voting increasingly in evidence in the Holyrood election.

The SNP's victory - and what people think that could mean for an independence referendum - and Labour's reaction to poor results in English elections could also play into the by-election.

Labour have put forward local councillor Kenneth Stephenson

Meanwhile Scottish Conservative candidate Ben Callaghan was previously a supporter of the local Labour party, but switched to the Tories after the 2014 independence referendum.

He said: "I grew up here, and my whole life we've either had Labour the SNP - I think we really do need change, we need someone who won't take voters for granted and who will work day and night to try and improve the services here in North Lanarkshire."

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have put forward Stephen Arrundale, the party's treasurer, for the contest.

The party said it wanted to "put recovery first" and focus on issues like housing, education and jobs rather than the constitution.

The Lib Dem candidate is Stephen Arrundale while the Conservatives are represented by Ben Callaghan

The full list of candidates is:

Stephen Arrundale - Scottish Liberal Democrats

Ben Callaghan - Scottish Conservatives

Martyn Green - Reform UK

Donald Mackay - UKIP

Neil Manson - Social Democratic Party

Anum Qaiser-Javed - SNP

Jonathan Stanley - Scottish Unionist Party

Kenneth Stevenson - Scottish Labour Party