I am Stuart Martin and it’s a great privilege to be standing in this Shetland islands by-election for UKIP.

Full statement

I am 51 years old, married and have two sons aged four and five.

I am self-employed working in transport for over 20 years, but I have also worked in sales / retail & support work.

I have been interested in politics since school studying modern studies opened my eyes. Over the last 30 years of my life I have seen many political changes, most recently we have seen MPs from the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the SNP try to overturn democracy of 17.4 million people who voted for Brexit. I believe in democracy and the honour to respect the results of referendums.

On Scottish independence I believe we made our decision in 2014 and we were told this was a once in a generation referendum. I respect the result of the 2014 referendum and don’t see the need for another divisive referendum at this time in Scotland.

I will be campaigning on many local issues over the next few weeks:

- North sea ferries – new ferries to be supported by the Scottish government;

- HIAL – cheaper air fares for islanders and to keep air traffic control on the islands;

- Education – more funding for schools and to make sure a free place for all children at nursery;

- NHS – More funding for our NHS and for more services to be restored to the islands so we don’t need to travel to Aberdeen;

- Farming & Agriculture – both will benefit greatly after Brexit as we will be free from the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and the damaging regulatory constraints of the out of control EU bureaucracy that one size fits all;

- Fishing – after Brexit we will withdraw from the EU’s Common Fishing Policy without the need for a transition period when we leave the EU. This will allow our fishermen to catch more fish in our waters under no restrictions.

If you choose to elect me as your MSP your voice will be my voice and your concerns will be my priorities.

Source: https://www.ukip.scot/single-post/2019/07/30/SHETLAND-BY-ELECTION-29-AUGUST-2019