Zara Kitson

The Scottish Greens have selected 27-year-old grassroots democracy advocate Zara Kitson to contest the Dunfermline seat at Holyrood vacated by Bill Walker after his conviction for domestic violence.

Zara is an organiser of So Say Scotland, which aims to give citizens the resources to make decisions directly, instead of petitioning distant politicians. The project was inspired by the creation of the new Icelandic constitution, whose principles were established by a forum of 1500 ordinary Icelanders, who used the internet to allow even more people to contribute to their deliberations.

She is a determined advocate of Scottish independence, and particularly active as part of National Collective, the artists’ and creatives’ campaign for a Yes vote in next September’s referendum.

Zara said:

“It’s fair to say Parliament hasn’t always served the people of Dunfermline as well as it could, especially recently. This campaign must be about them, not us.

“The focus on Dunfermline should put all the Holyrood parties on the spot, and give local people the chance to tell us what they want and expect from us. Whatever the outcome, they deserve better representation in Parliament, and I’m confident they’ll get it next month.”

Her nomination was supported by Mark Ruskell, Stirling councillor and former MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, the Scottish Parliament region that includes Dunfermline. He said:

“Zara is one of the Scottish Greens’ rising stars, and I was very pleased to be able to support her nomination for this campaign. She’s hard-working, creative, and principled – we could not have a better candidate for this by-election, nor could there be a better future MSP for Dunfermline.”