From the edge of Europe to the heart of a Labour government - can Labour win in the Western Isles at the next general election?

The Western Isles has been SNP for almost two decades – but journalist Torcuil Crichton is hoping to change that at the next election

Torcuil Crichton is the Labour Party candidate in the Western Isles.

It’s a constituency that has been yellow on the election maps for almost 20 years - but the Labour Party are hoping to turn the Western Isles red once again.

Former Westminster journalist Torcuil Crichton is hoping he can move from the press gallery to the floor of the House of Commons debating chamber by winning for Labour in his home constituency.

The Western Isles is one of the biggest geographical constituencies in the whole of the UK, and sits right on the edge of Europe.

Torcuil Crichton addressing the Scottish Labour conference.

Constituents there have voted SNP since 2005, and up until very recently Angus B MacNeil was one of the longest-serving SNP MPs in Westminster.

But he has sat as an independent MP since the summer after being suspended from the party over a row with the chief whip Brendan O’Hara.

The SNP has already confirmed it will run Councillor Susan Thomson as its candidate in the next general election.

The majority of the polls predict Mr Crichton will win, and he says he will take the Western Isles from the edge of Europe to the heart of a Labour government if he wins.

Former SNP MP for the Western Isles Angus MacNeil, who now sits as an independent, speaks in the House of Commons. Picture: PA

Mr Crichton grew up in Swordale on the Isle of Lewis, and previously worked as a journalist at the West Highland Free Press covering the Hebrides.

More recently he has been the Daily Record’s Westminster Editor.

Speaking to The Scotsman, he said: “I wouldn’t be doing this unless I was optimistic.

“But I don’t take it for granted - people are fed up with the SNP, but they still have an attachment to nationalism.

A general view of the Isle of Harris. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

“The Western Isles has been Labour most of its life, but it went to the SNP twice in the 1970s and then again in 2005.

“You can’t pre-judge it, It’s like asking people what they will eat on a specific Thursday in October - they know they will eat, but they don’t know what.

“But they have had both the SNP and Conservative governments now for over a decade and they are not better off.

“Their children’s chances of work and getting a house are not the same as when they grew up.”

He adds because the constituency has such a small electorate, it doesn’t take much for it to change political allegiance - something he is hoping will play in his favour at the election.

And he is not dismissing the threat the SNP will pose for him in the general election, or their hopes for a second independence referendum.

But he is hoping he can appeal to voters on other issues: “Just because the SNP is falling apart, I don’t underestimate people’s attachment to independence.

“People are fed up with the SNP, but they have voted for nationalism and independence for the last 10 to 12 years.

“So my message is while we have a disagreement on independence, we have been dancing to that tune for the last 10 years and nothing has happened, so here are the issues we do agree on - ferries, education and healthcare.”

So what exactly are the hot topic issues for islanders that he wants to address?

The obvious one would be ferries - he says the two CalMac ferries which are still languishing in the Ferguson Marine shipyard are an “international symbol of the failure of nationalism”.

But it turns out there is something bigger on a lot of islanders’ minds.

The Scottish Government dropped its proposals to introduce highly-protected marine areas (HPMAs) earlier this year, which would have banned fishing in 10 per cent of Scotland’s waters.

But there is still a fear amongst fishing communities there will be further restrictions in the future in the name of environmentalism.

Mr Crichton said: “When I came home in January I thought the issue would be ferries, but people are beyond angry on that - the real anger was on HPMAs, which would have been a complete disaster for the Hebrides.

“It would have taken tens of millions of pounds out of the economy and closed villages and towns up and down the west coast.”

And on top of the ferries to the mainland exasperating islanders, Mr Crichton says inter-island ferries are at risk of becoming a second crisis.

He said: “The Western Isles stretches a distance from London to Sheffield and they can’t rely on ageing ferries that can’t run in bad weather.

“They were due to be replaced in 2030 but we know Shona Robison has pushed back the ferry procurement programme for smaller ferries for another year, and we really can’t wait that long.

“It’s not just our links to the mainland, but the ties that bind us together - it really is a second ferry crisis.

“Big opportunities are being restricted by the ferry infrastructure and the lack of resources and housing.

“People can get a job but then find there is nowhere for them to stay, and that is creating a bottleneck in the economy.”

He added: “I want the Western Isles to be stepping forward rather than stepping back.

“A vote for the SNP would not be a step forward - and a vote for the Conservatives would be a vote for chaos.”

In response Ms Thomson, the SNP candidate, said: “The only thing that is being taken for granted is Labour’s attitude towards the people of Scotland.

“The closer Keir Starmer gets to Number 10, the further away he gets from the values of people in island communities like ours.

“People across the islands deserve an MP who will stand up for them and their priorities, and not simply shuffle in behind their Westminster leader whose only priority is winning over Tory voters in England.

“At the general election next year, people have the chance to vote SNP for their voice to be heard and for a better future as an independent country.”