RISE, a new coalition of the pro-independence left in Scotland, now has candidates on its regional list for Mid-Scotland & Fife.

Members voted to select Jenni Gunn, 25, and local man Bryan Quinn, 29, to stand as candidates in the region, which covers Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire, Perth and Fife.

Bryan, who lives on Alloa with his wife and two young children, is a former Alloa Academy and Forth Valley College pupil. He is currently a mature student attending a course for Business Studies and Psychology at the University of Stirling.

He was actively involved in campaigning for independence and has also been speaking out against fracking. He has also helped to start the Clackmannanshire branch of the Scottish Socialist Party.

RISE, which stands for Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism, is an alliance bringing together socialists, independence campaigners, feminists as well as anti-austerity and human rights activists.

Bryan said: “I am delighted to have been selected as a candidate for RISE. We are facing many problems in Clackmannanshire including almost £23 million of cuts from the council in the next few years, INEOS trying to frack underneath our homes and over a quarter of children in the county living in poverty.

“The people of Clackmannanshire deserve better and RISE have solutions to these problems. We will scrap the council tax and replace it with a fairer, progressive income based tax to avoid the cuts to jobs and services.

“We will send INEOS packing because we will not ruin our land while putting our health and the environment at risk.

The solutions RISE propose put the poorest and under-represented before corporations and the wealthy.”

Jenni Gunn completed a masters degree at the University of Stirling. She has been a member of the board of directors for Our Generation, successor of the organisation Generation Yes – she has also been an active member of Women for Independence.

For the past two years, she has been on the Executive Committee of the Scottish Socialist Party. She currently works in the care sector in a support and advocacy role for young people and adults with learning difficulties.

RISE will also be launching its new Clackmannanshire branch next Tuesday, February 9 in the Hawkhill Community Centre at 7.30pm. All are invited to attend and learn more.