THE former leader of the SNP local authority group in Inverclyde has cleared a key hurdle in his bid to stand as a candidate in this year's general election.

Chris McEleny has been officially approved as an election candidate by the Alba Party. 

Mr McEleny served as an elected member for Gourock for ten years and was leader of Inverclyde's SNP group from 2013-2020 before joining Alex Salmond's pro-independence Alba Party. 

It is not yet known what seat Mr McEleny will contest as his party’s chiefs are yet to announce the seats they will field candidates in. But he is heavily tipped to stand locally against current MP Ronnie Cowan and Labour challenger Martin McCluskey. 

The former Inverclyde councillor, who is currently Alba Party general secretary, said he has 'never been one to sit out of a political fight' he believes in.

He said: "I am pleased that the national executive committee of Alba Party have approved me to stand as a candidate at the general election.

“If Labour sees a revival in Scotland it will be as if all the incremental gains we made since 2007 never happened. It’ll be New Labour 2.0 and the cause of Scottish independence will have suffered a set back. 

“That is why it is vitally important that independence supporters have the choice to vote for independence at the ballot box - and this is the choice Alba Party have resolved to give them. 

“We must not turn back to a Labour Party that is a pale imitation of the Tories just because we feel let down by the SNP.

"And people can trust me, I’ve been there and bought the t-shirt, nobody can feel as let down as I have felt in recent years in regards to the SNP not progressing the case for independence and a multitude of policies such as gender reforms, hate crime laws and daft bottle return schemes to name a few. 

“It is my hope that my home of Inverclyde will be one of the seats that Alba Party agrees to fight to give people that live here the choice to vote for a party that listens to their priorities and acts upon them.”