Election 2017: Swinson to fight East Dunbartonshire for Lib Dems

Former UK Business  minister Jo Swinson has announced that she is to fight the East Dunbartonshire seat for the Liberal Democrats in the forthcoming election.

Jo Swinson will contest East Dunbartonshire for the Lib Dems

Ms Swinson lost the seat two year ago to the SNP's John Nicolson but the majority of 2167 makes it ones of the most vulnerable SNP seats in Scotland.

"I’m standing to be a pro-UK, pro-EU MP for East Dunbartonshire," Ms Swinson announced on Twitter today.

The 37-year-old formed her own consultancy to champion women in the workplace after being voted out two years ago. She was seen as a rising star of the last Coalition Government after winning the East Dunbartonshire seat from Labour in 2005.

The contest will be one of the most intriguing of the forthcoming election north of the border.

Mr Nicolson, a former BBC journalist, has been one of the SNP's most high-profile MPs over the past two years with a string of regular TV appearances.