EVA COMRIE has announced she will be standing for election in the newly created Alloa and Grangemouth ward.

The former Alba party member announced her intention to run as an independent candidate at this year’s general election.

In a post on the pro-independence blog Barrhead Boy, Comrie confirmed her plans to run for election, citing her attachment to her home town as a big factor in her decision.

She said: “Each of us has our part to play in creating the future Scotland deserves; for that reason and a few more outlined below, I have resolved to stand as an Independent candidate for the constituency of Alloa and Grangemouth at the forth coming General Election.

“My home is in the Wee Coonty of Clackmannanshire and that’s where my heart lies.

“Like so much of Scotland though, Clackmannanshire is riven by poverty and deprivation – unnecessary in a land of plenty.

“Few Scottish politicians have raised their voices let alone fingers to prevent it; only with independence and competent government can we rebuild and thrive.”

Comrie made waves when she announced she would be leaving the Alba party this week, having been an early defector to Alex Salmond’s breakaway party.

She had left the party after engaging in a gender row, in which she branded the Alba party’s women’s convener Yvonne Ridley a “fraud”.

This arose after Ridley had said that trans women were woman who had “been assigned male at birth”.

This goes against the Alba party policy on gender recognition, which emphasises biological sex as the key difference between men and women.

As reported by the Advertiser last month, businessman Brian Leishman will also be running for the constituency for Labour. Comrie will also be up against SNP MP John Nicolson.

Following her decision to run for election, Comrie added: "I am honoured to stand as an independent candidate for the Alloa and Grangemouth Parliamentary seat.

""Now more than ever, it is crucial that we, the people who comprise the independence movement, fight for the values and principles defining us.

"With your support, we will create a Scotland independent and prosperous, and we will release the potential of Scotland’s greatest resource - her people.”