Joan McAlpine has vowed to carry on her campaign for City Status for Dumfries and more ambition for the region after raising the SNP vote in Dumfriesshire from 8384 in 2011 to 12,306 last week. She came a close second to the Conservatives who beat the Labour incumbent of 17 years Elaine Murray.
Ms McAlpine, who will continue to serve as a Scottish Parliament regional member, raised the SNP vote share by 7.7%, the highest in the South of Scotland region and much higher than the party’s national rise of 1.2%.
Ms McAlpine has now written to the new MSP for Dumfriesshire Oliver Mundell after he said in his victory speech that he hoped to work with her on some of the ideas she raised to boost jobs and investment in the region in the course of the campaign.
She said:
“Our local campaign was very positive and offered constructive ways to take the region forward – such as lobbying for city region status to unleash UK government infrastructure investment. I am pleased that the new MSP has acknowledged that, and I would be delighted to accept his invitation to work with him in parliament to promote these ideas.
