Election Diary: 'Intergrity', political vision and superheroes

Fair play to Hannah Mary Goodlad, the SNP candidate for Shetland, who clearly saw our earlier piece about shoddy spelling during this campaign and decided she'd get in on the action. In an advert published in the local press this week, she boasted of having "intergrity" and being "determind". Understandably, she did not list attention to detail as one of her attributes.

Political vision

Shout out to casual king John Beare, the SNP candidate for Fife North East, who has decided his glasses are really more of a fashion accessory than anything else. In all six photos on his campaign leaflet, they are perched nonchalantly on top of his head. Who needs clear vision when you look this cool?

Young at heart

BBC Scotland's Debate Night held a "young voters special" on Wednesday evening, with the SNP and Reform both putting forward keen young candidates to represent their parties. Meghan Gallacher, the 34-year-old former Scottish Tory deputy leader, and 34-year-old Green co-leader Gillian Mackay also took part. Labour, meanwhile, put forward Jackie Baillie. We don't wish to get on the wrong side of the slightly terrifying Ms Baillie, but at 62 years old surely the only thing she shares with Scotland's youth is a free bus pass.

Labour woes

Labour can’t catch a break this election. Party leader Anas Sarwar gathered activists outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to unveil his plan for the first 100 days of a Scottish Labour government [sic]. Unfortunately, no one had bothered to look up the rules about campaigning on parliament grounds during an election. After a journalist pointed this out, everyone was forced to trudge up the Dynamic Earth steps, where Holyrood could feature in the background of camera shots instead. The seat of political power, just out of reach.

Campaign blues

Lyn Jardine, the SNP candidate for Edinburgh North Western, posted a photo of her campaign playlist to Facebook on Wednesday, with Where is The Love? by the Black Eyed Peas featuring prominently. Alas, she’ll probably be asking the same question on Friday, when she’s widely expected to be trounced by Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton.

Inaction men

ITV Border asked the party leaders which superheroes they most identify as this week, for a piece linked to the filming of an Avengers movie in St Abbs. The broadcaster received suitably deluded responses. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay chose Thor, Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton went for Aquaman, SNP leader John Swinney and Reform’s Malcolm Offord both saw themselves as Superman (cringe), and the Greens’ Ross Greer and Labour’s Anas Sarwar chose Iron Man. We’d suggest Marvel’s Hindsight Lad is perhaps a better fit for most of them. Possessed of no superhuman abilities, he is described online as “often obnoxious and self-aggrandizing”.

A place in the sun

The housing crisis in the Highlands and islands unsurprisingly featured during a hustings in Portree last week, with one young man from Skye telling the candidates he had to leave the island because he couldn’t find somewhere to live. Don’t bother getting the violins out, though. It turned out he had moved to San Sebastián in Spain. I’m sure you’ll cope, mate.