THE Scottish Conservatives have revealed their candidate in Argyll and Bute for the next UK general election.

Amanda Hampsey was elected in May last year as a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Councillor for the Oban South and the Isles ward on Argyll and Bute Council.

She was one of a number of new Conservative councillors elected that year - with the others including her teenage son Daniel.

Members of the Scottish Conservatives have now selected her as their candidate for the new Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber constituency ahead of the next UK general election - widely expected to take place some time in 2024.

Cllr Hampsey said: "I am extremely grateful to local members in this constituency for putting their faith in me and selecting me to fight this seat at the next general election.

"I have been privileged to represent Oban South and the Isles ward as a councillor since last May and I believe I can use that experience - as well as living, working and bringing up my children in this area - to be a strong voice as an MP.

"Our rural and remote communities have been neglected for far too long and are under increasing strain. I know the challenges they are facing because I face them on a daily basis too.

"I want to change that by being a strong voice at Westminster, advocating for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber."

Cllr Hampsey, a mother of five, currently serves as the policy lead for Argyll and Bute Council's care services and is the depute policy lead for planning and regulatory services.

The Conservative candidate at the last two UK general elections, in 2019 and 2017, was the party's Helensburgh Central councillor, Gary Mulvaney. 

On each occasion, he was runner-up to the SNP's Brendan O'Hara, who has held the seat since capturing it from the Liberal Democrats in 2015.

The party's share of the vote in 2015 was 14.9 per cent, but Cllr Mulvaney increased that to 33.2 per cent in 2017 and 35.2 per cent two years later.

Cllr Hampsey's fellow Conservative councillor Peter Wallace, chairman of the party's Argyll and Bute local association, said: "Since being elected, Amanda has established herself as a real champion for local causes.

"She has travelled across our area and fully understands the issues faced in this rural and remote constituency. I'm delighted she has been selected and I know she will make an excellent MP.

"Amanda and the Scottish Conservatives are the only party who can beat the SNP here and ensure that the focus is on people's real priorities such as the cost-of-living crisis, fighting to protect local public services and ensuring our rural communities get a fair funding deal.

"Local members are up for the fight and will be taking the Scottish Conservatives positive message to households across the length and breadth of the constituency."