Kayleigh O’Neill was elected as a councillor in Edinburgh, representing the Forth Ward in 2022. She lives in Leith with her partner and she is now standing for Westminster.
Previously an SNP member she said she was “politically homeless” for a while but then found the Greens best represented her views on a range of issues.
She said: “As the first Green councillor in Edinburgh’s Forth Ward I am delighted to now be the party’s candidate for the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.
“I think this election campaign will be an amazing opportunity for Green members and the community. I am immensely proud of the work that I have done in the council to improve accessibility for disabled people, stand up for the rights of trans people, and work to make our communities cleaner, greener and safer.
“I am creating Edinburgh as the next Feminist City, I have helped improve the Council’s ‘warm and welcoming spaces’, and most recently, set up a scheme that will send unused medical aids to Gaza and Ukraine.
“I will be the voice for those who face relentless barriers and fight every day just to be heard. I would fight to reform the Department of Work and Pensions to abolish unfair and discriminatory assessments.
“We have recently heard that benefits claimants who ‘refuse’ to look for a job could lose their right to free NHS prescriptions, dental care and help with energy bills. This is all a criminal plot to allegedly help people back to work. In reality, this is the UK Government once again disproportionately starving and killing disabled people.
“In a world of environmental chaos and destruction we need Greens in the room to push for social and climate justice.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
