Election 2024: Focus on Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy

It’s the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's seat, and a real swing constituency; over the last two decades - with a few boundary changes along the way - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy has been represented by Labour, the SNP and most recently by Alex Salmond's Alba Party.

Neale Hanvey beat Labour by just over 1200 votes in 2019 despite being suspended from the SNP at the time. He faced criticism over social media posts he’d shared years earlier drawing comparisons between Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and that of Jewish people during the Second World War.

Hanvey apologised for the language he'd used and was later readmitted to the SNP, but shortly afterwards he defected to Alex Salmond’s fledgling Alba Party.

Despite his incumbency, polling suggests this will be a straight fight between the SNP and Labour.

Labour’s Melanie Ward was a late addition to the ballot, after the original candidate - Wilma Brown - was deselected after offensive comments she’d posted online came to light. This has led to suggestions Ward has simply been “parachuted in” with no connection to the constituency. She says such criticism is “misplaced”:

“I was born and brought up in Scotland, on the west coast as it happens, I went to University in Stirling, I was president of the NUJ in Scotland, and actually back then - 20 years ago - I worked closely with the Fife College Students Association there. After university I lived in Edinburgh and I also lived in Fife.”

If nationwide polling is to be believed, Cowdenbeath should be one of the Labour party’s easier victories across Scotland, but Lesley Backhouse is hoping to bring the seat back for the SNP:

“I’m not one to take 'no' for an answer. I was a forensic accountant for 26 years with the UK government, I’ve been a trade union activist for over 30 years, I’m always somebody who’ll support those who are maybe not as confident to ask for what they deserve.”

The incumbent MP Neale Hanvey says he’s “no regrets whatsoever” over his defection to Alba:

“I’ve delivered an outstanding service to constituents, 12 thousand constituency cases and over £165 thousand worth of reclaimed or recovered cash put back into the pockets of cash strapped constituents, we’ve taken real action on the cost of living crisis.”

The full list of candidates standing in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy is as follows:

Lesley Backhouse (SNP)

Sonia Davidson (Reform UK)

Fraser Graham (Liberal Democrat)

Jonny Gray (Conservative)

Mags Hall (Scottish Greens)

Neale Hanvey (Alba)

Calum “Caz” Paul (Scottish Libertarian)

Melanie Ward (Labour)