Tommy Sheppard's SNP bid

Comedy club boss Tommy Sheppard has launched a bid to become an MP for the SNP.

The owner of The Stand comedy clubs is bidding to become the nationalists’ candidate for the Commons seat of Edinburgh East.

Labour’s Sheila Gilmore holds the constituency with a majority of more than 9,000 – but it is still seen as the SNP’s most winnable seat in the city.

Sheppard, who is director of the Glasgow Comedy Festival as well as owning his venues in Edinburgh and Glasgow, is a former Labour activist who joined the SNP after the independence referendum.

He is a former Scottish Labour deputy general secretary, former Labour councillor in Hackney in London, and previously stood for Labour in the safe Tory seat of Bury St Edmunds in the 1992 election.

Sheppard told the Edinburgh Evening News: ‘I think there’s a real mood for change in the country and in order to achieve that we need a big shake-up in Westminster next May. I would be extremely privileged to be able to fly the flag for the SNP in that contest.’

He said the party was benefitting from a lot of Labour defectors, but acknowledged Edinburgh East would be a tough fight. ‘It will be very difficult to prise it off them,’ he said. ‘It’s a huge mountain we need to climb, but the party is in good shape for it.’

But first he needs to be selected as candidate for the seat, ahead of other hopefuls expected to include SNP councillors and a former nationalist MSP.

Published: 1 Dec 2014