INCUMBENT North Ayrshire and Arran MP Patricia Gibson will stand for re-election in the snap General Election, which was called today. 

SNP MP Ms Gibson, who won the seat from Labour in 2015 with over 53 per cent of the vote, will stand again and she spoke to the Herald after Prime Minister Theresa May announced that an election would take place. 

She said: “This announcement is one of the most extraordinary U-turns in recent political history and shows that the PM is putting the interests of her party above all else. Repeatedly, since taking office, she vowed there would be no election before 2020.

“With the Labour Party engulfed in the chaos of ongoing civil war, she is seeking to consolidate her grip on power for many years to come and once again, Scotland will face having a government it did not vote for imposing even deeper austerity on our communities.

“I am confident that the people of Scotland will, once again, reject the Tories’ with their increasingly socially divisive and cuts-driven agenda.

“More than ever, this election will be about standing up for Scotland.  We will work harder than ever to retain the trust of the people of Scotland and will always put the people of Scotland first.”