By Bill Heaney
SNP’s biggest loser has announced his bid to make it six defeats in a row, including failing to oust Jackie Baillie in Dumbarton from her seat in the Holyrood parliament.
Toni Giugliano has lost five elections back-to-back, including in some of the party’s safest seats, as he is aiming to once again become an elected politician, despite repeatedly being snubbed by voters.
Mr Giugliano, a close friend of Nicola Sturgeon, has lost five elections back-to-back, including in some of the party’s safest seats.
In Dumbarton, he tried to pass himself off as a local, even having his picture taken with Dumbarton Castle in the background, and he told voters at the Helensburgh end of the constituency his parents had once lived in Helensburgh.
Undeterred, according to the Scottish Daily Express, the policy wonk has confirmed his candidacy once again for the third time at a Scottish Parliament election, and is once again aiming for a safe seat.
Toni Guigliano, Michael Matheson, Jackie Baillie and Alex Cole-Hamilton.
Falkirk West was won by shamed Michael Matheson in 2021 when he netted more than 50% of the vote and was 30% ahead of his nearest challenger.
These defeats came despite him being position favourably repeatedly to become an elected politician. He unseated SNP incumbent Colin Keir in Edinburgh Western in 2016 but lost the constituency to Scottish Lib Dem Alex Cole-Hamilton.
At the 2017 General Election he was soundly beaten by another Lib Dem in Christine Jardine, a former Clydebank Post reporter, in Edinburgh West despite the seat previously being held by the SNP’s Michelle Thomson.
At the 2021 Holyrood election he lost out in Dumbarton to Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie in a result which meant the SNP lost their majority at the Scottish Parliament. And in 2024 he was defeated in Falkirk despite the retiring SNP MSP having a huge 14,000 majority there.
Mr Giugliano confirmed plans to once again stand again next year in Falkirk West, where incumbent Mr Matheson is quitting after being caught up in an expenses scandal which saw him get a record ban from Holyrood. He pledged to put “independence first” as he aims to end his losing streak.
Despite Scots rejecting him five times, members of the party keep nominating him for seats, and he said Scotland “cannot afford to drift while the world becomes more unstable” and the UK Government continues to “marginalise Scottish interests at home and abroad”.
Despite his focus on Scexit, he went on to claim that the SNP will not win voters back with “empty promises that independence is around the corner.”
He added: “That’s why my conference motion to relaunch a national Yes campaign must now be delivered. The path to independence becomes unstoppable when we consistently carry the clear majority of Scotland with us.”
Top of page picture: Bold as brass: Five times loser Toni Guigliano when he pretended to be local and stood for election in Dumbarton.