mtbc | Local candidates for the general election

I had not realized how soon the general election now is. It is time for me to take stock of our local candidates:

Peter Anthony Barrett, Scottish Liberal Democrats: Locally they usually do even worse than Labour. They want to increase income tax a little and spend a fair bit, including on mental health services. They favor the triple-lock on pensions. They want a referendum on Brexit terms but not another on Scottish independence. They seem keen on public transport and renewable energy. The national party are keen to create more garden cities.
Ian Duncan, Scottish Conservative and Unionist: Currently an MEP. Keen on the environment. Is gay. We have had plenty of Conservative literature through the door, judging from which various older people like him. Said literature focuses on being against the SNP and a second independence referendum and includes a vague nod to improving public services and the economy. In general the Conservatives are for retaining Trident, reducing immigration, means-testing benefits and ending the triple-lock. One sometimes gets the impression that they would like to bring back the workhouses.
David Hugo Roemmele, Scottish Labour Party: Has quite a beard. Locally the party gets fairly few votes. They are in favor of retaining Trident, nationalizing public services and they oppose another independence referendum. Their website is poor. It isn't quite clear if the national party is presently up to organizing a wedding, let alone running a government.
Pete Wishart, Scottish National Party: Already has some power in the Commons. Background in community and charity work. Favors copyright term extension, perhaps related to his performing in bands. We have had plenty of SNP literature too, partly about opposing spending cuts but also mentioning many local issues. The SNP favor the triple-lock on pensions, another independence referendum, immigration and EU membership. They want to raise the top rate of income tax to 50%, spend plenty, stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia and scrap Trident, and abolish the House of Lords.

Noting the candidates' and parties' principal and incidental properties does help me to decide for whom to vote. I let myself be guided by what they headline in their own literature as indicating what they care more about actually achieving. Perhaps at some point I should note the various issues and mention how I feel about them. Naturally they rarely greatly fit one party's manifesto over another, hence the diversity in my voting history in both the UK and the US.