Newsletters & Blogs

Please enjoy reading my newsletter and blogs about areas of interest.

Michelle02

Thank you for selecting me to be your SNP candidate for Falkirk East in the Holyrood elections of 2021. Thank you also to my colleagues Cecil Meicklejohn, Laura Murtagh and Sue Friel for participating in such an enlivening selection process.

I have been in touch with all the key individuals across the whole constituency and have started doing some planning for my campaign. Watch this space for more information - I am going to need a great team to help me.

Yours for Scotland,

Michelle

alan 2 Copy

Last endorsement of my campaign - with thanks to Alan Gilbert of Bo'ness branch.

"I've listened to all candidates in the selection process and Michelle in my opinion has shown that she has the experience and leadership to make Falkirk East reach its potential.

Michelle understands what the constituency needs and has the drive and ambition to ensure that towns like Bo'ness and the other towns in the constituency get the attention that they deserve.

Michelle is a leader and when she speaks, people listen. I can confidently say that Michelle will fight for her constituency and give us a voice. Michelle will put Falkirk East on the map and her experience in business and her contacts within the business community will be invaluable.

Make no mistake, this is the most important election in the lifetime of Holyrood and we need someone of the calibre of Michelle fighting our corner not only for the constituency but also for the push towards independence. Michelle's experience on the local and national stage will be invaluable.

I will be proud to vote for Michelle as our next Falkirk East candidate and will do all I can to campaign to deliver Michelle as the next SNP MSP for Falkirk East".

Thank you Alan.

Winning candidate

I was delighted to receive this endorsement from John Riley of Tryst branch - thank you John.

Fellow members, I’m backing Michelle Thomson as our SNP candidate to secure the Falkirk East constituency at the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.

I have been an active SNP member for many years but have never previously publicly endorsed an individual as my preferred candidate.

In the run up to the 2014 Independence Referendum, I was impressed with Michelle’s work as media spokesperson for Business for Scotland. Having viewed the recent local hustings and researched the biographies of our four potential candidates, I am firmly of the opinion that Michelle is the clear frontrunner to represent our diverse area of Falkirk East.

Our best chance of achieving independence is likely to be during the next term of the Scottish Parliament. In order to help achieve this, I am convinced that we need to choose Michelle as our candidate.

Michelle Thomson has extensive life, business and political experience. She is an excellent communicator, with a proven track record in dealing with hostile media. She has a breadth of business experience at a senior level in banking, corporate finance, IT, research and business change.

Michelle is an empathetic listener and is excellent at building relationships and networks both locally and nationally. I believe that she has the necessary leadership experience and abilities to be our MSP and would work tirelessly to achieve a strong independent democratic Scotland.

We need Independence. We need the best candidate. We need Michelle for Falkirk East.

John Riley SNP

Tryst Branch.

Gail Nash

I am grateful for this lovely endorsement from Gail Nash, who answered my question of "what do you want to see from your MSP":

"My simple answer would be someone who has strong LEADERSHIP. Leadership for me encompasses a number of key skills: having a vision, an effective communicator, the ability to engage and actively listen, someone who can easily build relationships and networks - and lastly experience. It is these skills which will enable Michelle to lead our constituency in the next election battle and more importantly provide the crucial leadership required as we move towards the final #indyref2.

Her ability to communicate with people, particularly in a digital space, inspire and create the sense of urgency and purpose we need will allow us to realise this goal.

It is these skills which will enable Michelle to lead our constituency in the next election battle and more importantly provide the crucial leadership required as we move towards the final #indyref2.

Thanks Gail!

4sq photo

Delighted to add another endorsement today - this time from JANE & WILLIAM ROSE of 4 Square Engineering:

"We're backing Michelle Thomson as the candidate for Falkirk East because of her track record in business and her approach to working for the community through her previous political and non-political roles. Michelle is actively engaging with members of the constituency and has the drive to put Falkirk East on the map: both as a constituency and in working for the needs of the individual towns within it. Scottish business needs to be heard and supported more than ever as a result of the UK's destructive policies and Michelle has a grip on what's needed to fight for their needs and local and national levels".

Thank you Jane & William!

Just in case people hadn't seen the previous endorsement from Ivan McKee, the Minister in the Scottish Government for Trade, Investment and Innovation:

"To win our nation's independence we will need to be determined in the face of adversity and resilient to overcome the forces ranged against us. Michelle has demonstrated these qualities in spades. We need her on our Holyrood team".

Whilst I regard my local endorsements as the most important it is lovely to have this from a Scottish Government Minister. I suspect part of the reason is that Ivan and I go way back to speaking together during #indyref1 days and I have dealt with him in my work with Momentous Change where we gave policy recommendations on the Scottish Global diaspora.

Thanks Ivan!

Commitment 3

My commitment as your SNP candidate

You can follow this link here to see a pdf version:

My public commitment to you

Introduction

Candidates tend to make promises to SNP members when they are seeking selection.

I am no different in that I shall also make promises to you as the local Falkirk East SNP members – but where I am different is that I am putting them in in the public domain. You can therefore measure me against them if I am selected.

I promise to…

Build my Team SNP

Start as I mean to go on with Team SNP – this means that I will meet with all of the elected constituency association branch officers, branch members (via local meetings), councillors, constituency-bordering MPs and MSPs, the sitting MSP and his staff
Thereafter I will attend branch/CA meetings regularly
I will agree how regular communication will take place with bordering MPs/MSP/current MSP

Immediately be highly visible as the candidate

Start to build up the vital relationships with key stakeholders across the constituency. Firstly, I will create the list of these key relationships then start working my way through them by organising visits/calls etc
Contact the local press and issue a press release about my candidature and ask for an initial meeting
Maintain regular dialogue and issue press releases

Start the campaign planning immediately

Establish a local policy group made up of interested parties
Appoint a campaign organiser, election agent and organising committee including other key roles
Develop a campaign strategy to need to take account of on-going pandemic restrictions- there will be a lot of detail in here such as an assessment of the other political party candidates, key messages, supporting materials etc
Obtain professional versions of various platforms such as Zoom to ensure planning meetings can take place during the continuing pandemic
Build a presence online as the SNP candidate for Falkirk East
Create a budget for the election campaign and set out how that budget will be met
Undertake other activities as suggested by CA/branch

Start campaign

Formal campaigning should start as soon as possible but no later than January 2021

Parliamentarian readiness

Agree the process for handover from current MSP
Consider office locations and budget costs

Time commitment

You can expect me to give up significant amounts of time to be your candidate. I will be available when required – winning Falkirk East for the SNP will be my focus.

My public commitment to you