Greens select candidate for Gordon

Sue Edwards is well known because of her involvement in campaign group Tripping Up Trump. She was one of those interested in purchasing the redundant Council car park at Menie, which the Council has now decided it will sell to no-one but Donald Trump. A picture of Sue is available on request.

The Scottish Green Party has not contested Gordon before. Its decision to do so this time comes in the wake of two independent Aberdeenshire councillors, Cllr Martin Ford and Cllr Debra Storr, joining the party. The Green Party is expected to pick up votes from the other partiea because of its opposition to the use of compulsory purchase to help Donald Trump force residents off the Menie estate, and because it wants to see investment in schools and public transport instead of building the Aberdeen by-pass.

A first-time candidate, Sue is delighted to have been selected to fight Gordon by local party members. She said:

"It will be a new challenge. People feel very let down by Aberdeenshire Council, and by the behaviour of councillors and MPs. I will campaign positively for investment in schools to be given priority, for action on climate change and on behalf of those Gordon residents facing possible eviction from their homes at Menie. My priority will be to speak up for those who live and work here, and to put them first.

"I would also like to encourage young voters to vote for the Scottish Green Party. We are soon going to depend upon them to make our decisions, protect our natural environment and take responsibility for how the world is run, and they have huge potential to make a far better job of it than our current politicians. Every vote is so important in the forthcoming Westminster elections, but a strong Green vote can make such a difference to our everyday lives and those of people all round the world."

Sue Edwards and her husband Chris both work in the family clock business. They have two adult children.

Sue and Chris have lived in the north east for over thirty years. They live on a ten acre croft at Chapel of Garioch and have a small tree nursery, growing mainly hardwood trees from locally-collected seeds. A few years ago they planted two and a half acres of their agricultural land with native trees.

Sue describes herself as having been a naturalist all her life. She added:

"I love the wild places and the coast of Scotland, and especially our home beside Bennachie. In my spare time, I go for walks by the sea, watch wildlife, take photographs, and indulge in my hobbies of sea kayaking, camping and wild swimming."

Rhonda Reekie said:

"Greens will not join the stale consensus in North East politics, the cosy agreement to support the most destructive developments and the consistent failure to stand up for local people. We will instead make the case on the doorsteps that our beautiful part of the world can be protected and be better to live in, that we can have government at all levels we can be proud of, and that we can reap the rewards of a future low carbon economy, just as we have done with oil and gas. If this is the future you want, it's time to vote Green."

Patrick Harvie MSP said:

"Sue is a committed campaigner, and will be a hard-working and dedicated candidate for the Greens in Gordon. The local branch is fired up and ready to make a big impact in this election, and we will be giving our whole-hearted support to their efforts.

"The Scottish Green Party is growing steadily, unlike many of the other parties, and their failures in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire make this a great time for us to stand in Gordon for the first time. Every other candidate in this election will stand by as Donald Trump tries to evict local residents and bulldoze the Menie dunes. These same candidates all also support the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, which will drain money from schools and other public services in Aberdeenshire and in Aberdeen, as well as aggravating the area's environmental issues. Local people deserve a choice on these issues, and they would never have got one without a Green candidate."