Melanie Ward (Scottish Labour)
Who is she?
Labour candidate for Glenrothes.
She is 34 and single with no children, and lives and works in Glenrothes.
This is Melanie's first time standing to become a politician.
Working life:
Melanie has worked for anti-poverty charities such as Christian Aid and ActionAid and has led successful campaigns which secured action against tax dodging and created new laws.
She has worked on international issues including the Middle East and in education.
In her twenties she led the National Union of Students Scotland, where she worked to make access to college and university affordable and accessible to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Scottish Labour election pledges:
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A fully-costed manifesto to cut the UK's deficit every year and balance the budget as quickly as they can within the next five years.
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To spend a further £2.5 billion on the NHS, most of which paid for by a mansion tax on properties worth more than £2 million.
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A minimum wage of more than £8 an hour by 2019.
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A freeze energy bills for two years and give energy regulator Ofgem the power to cut fuel bills by winter.
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No rise in VAT, National Insurance, or basic and higher rates of income tax.
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Access to childcare from 8am-6pm for parents of primary school pupils.
About Glenrothes
Glenrothes was built in 1948, Scotland's second post-war town, to house miners from the Rothes Colliery. It's the administrative centre of Fife, with the local authority and Fife Division of Police Scotland based in the constituency.
The other major towns and villages here are Methil, Buckhaven and the Wemyss villages, as well as Markinch, Leslie, and Thornton
This area has some of the highest levels of deprivation in Scotland, with many communities among the 5% worst off in the country, and thousands of parents and children using foodbanks over the last two years.
The constituency is home to 22 primary schools and three secondaries.
Former MP Lindsay Roy stepped down after seven years representing the area at Westminster. The seat replaced Central Fife in 2005, and includes small parts of the Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline East constituencies. Labour have won both parliamentary elections in the 10 year history of the constituency. The party is defending a majority of 16,448, when Mr Roy attracted 62.3% of the vote at the 2010 UK General Election. The SNP won the equivalent seat during the 2011 Scottish elections, before Tricia Marwick became independent in order to become Presiding Officer at Holyrood. A recent by-election swung the local council area committee from Labour to the SNP. The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives traditionally finish third and fourth.
The main constituency issues - in her opinion:
Who else is standing here:
Alex Stewart-Clark, Scottish Conservatives
Jane Ann Liston, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Peter Grant, Scottish National Party
Why Melanie Ward thinks you should vote for her: