Tory candidate: 'I'm not worried at all about Reform'

The Tory candidate in the upcoming Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse has said he’s “not worried at all about Reform”.

With just a week to go, candidates from SNP, Scottish Labour, Tories, and Reform are battling it out for votes.

The SNP and Reform have called the by-election a “straight contest” between them, but the Conservative’s Richard Nelson said he’s “not worried at all”.

“I’m here to run my own campaign,” Nelson said.

“The people at the doors are not commenting on Reform, they’re commenting on the work I’ve done in this local community and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Nelson also confirmed he was a member of the Orange Order and the Apprentice Boys of Derry and defended his membership of both groups.

“I represent everyone despite religion or race and I’ll continue to do so. The organisations I’m in are not illegal organisations – they’re Christian fraternal organisations and I’m a part of them, but I represent everyone and their communities and I’ll continue to do so,” he told STV News.

Nelson also said reforming the NHS was among his top priorities.

“People are telling me they can’t get an appointment with their GP, they can’t get an appointment at the hospital, they’re waiting months for surgery – and I just think that’s unacceptable,” Nelson said.

“As an NHS employee, I see first hand the way the NHS has been broken by the current SNP Scottish Government.”

“It’s not about throwing continuous money at the NHS because it just disappears – it doesn’t go anywhere and you don’t see the benefit of it. For me it’s about frontline staff, they’re the people that actually need it and that’s what we need to see a focus on, not the hierarchy of the NHS.”

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