Forgotten Villages campaigner stands for Tories in council election

Claire Brown – who is also known by her maiden name, Claire Mackie – has been selected as the Conservative candidate for the Upper Braes area of Falkirk.

After setting up and leading the Falkirk’s Forgotten Villages Campaign – which successfully persuaded Falkirk Council to agree to install new heating in thousands of homes – Mrs Brown says she now aims to do more for the rural communities she hopes to represent.

However, becoming a politician was never an ambition, she says – until a spur-of-the-moment Facebook post changed everything.

Mrs Brown, 41, who was born and grew up in Slamannan, had moved away from the area for a number of years.

However, when she moved back it was to a privately rented house, with the Thermaflow heating system.

And when her energy costs jumped suddenly from £35 to £80 a week – following a price increase by Scottish Power – while her house was never properly warm, she took to social media to ask if anyone else was facing similar issues.

“It had a snowball effect – we suddenly realised there were 1000 homes affected and that’s where the campaign started,” she said.

Her work was acknowledged by Conservative MSP, Stephen Kerr, who invited her to the opening of the Scottish Parliament.

That led to her being asked if she would consider standing for the party.

She said: “Being from Slamannan, I have first-hand knowledge of how these communities have been forgotten.”

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