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A NATIONALIST candidate who was suspended by the SNP following a row over anti-semitic social media posts has won a seat in Fife.
Neale Hanvey will initially sit as an independent MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath following his victory over Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird.
He won with 16,568 votes to his Labour opponent’s 15,325.
Mr Hanvey, who apologised over the alleged use of an anti-semitic trope, is awaiting an investigation which will decide his party membership.
However, as his suspension came too late for a candidate change, he was listed as an SNP candidate and was announced as such at the count.
A large number of SNP activists continued to support Mr Hanvey following his suspension, including a member of the party’s complaints committee who has since stood down.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was forced to intervene, urging SNP members in the area to campaign in neighbouring constituencies.
Ms Laird claimed Mr Hanvey continued to use SNP branding in his campaign, despite being dropped as a candidate.
