We thought Pat McPhee would remain the selected candidate for Glasgow East by-election but for reasons we're not yet aware of it now appears that Davena Rankin will be fighting it. Rankin said:
“I am delighted to have been selected to fight the seat of Glasgow East, and would like to take this opportunity to wish David Marshall a speedy recovery as he steps down. For too long the Labour Party has taken Glasgow for granted, Labour has abused and neglected Glasgow when it should have been standing up and fighting for the people of this city. I’m sending a message to everyone in Glasgow East that I want to be a strong, tireless and committed MP for everybody in this constituency.”
Her biography is given as follows:
"Davena Rankin was educated at Knightswood Secondary School in Glasgow and the University of Sussex where she graduated with a BSC (Hons) in Medicinal Chemistry. She worked as a Shop Manager for Marie Curie Cancer Care in 1995 then as a Customer Care Advisor for the TSB Bank plc from 1995 to 1996. In 1997 she carried out basic training as a Royal Naval Officer and from 1997 until 1998 she worked with the Student & Placement Entrepreneurial Graduate programme, for Nemquest Ltd at the University of Glasgow. She was a Marketing and Publicity Officer for the IBLS Commercial Liaison Office at the University of Glasgow from 1998 until 2000 and then became Commercial Manager for Research & Innovation Services at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Davena Rankin is an active member of UNISON where she is Branch Secretary of the GCU Branch and also sits on the National Women’s Committee, National Black Members Committee and the Higher Education Service Group Executive, and chairs the Scottish Women’s Committee."
Annabel Goldie welcomed the selection:
"I have known Davena for some time and she is a tireless campaigner, not just for the Scottish Conservatives but for everyone she is seeking to represent. You don’t have to change passports to get the change you need, and that’s why the Conservatives, not the SNP, are the real alternative to this imploding Labour Government."
Related link: Andrew Morrison's profile of Glasgow East
