FORMER Argyll and Bute MP Alan Reid is to try to win back the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the next UK general election.

Mr Reid was chosen by members of the Lib Dems' constituency party as their candidate for the next Westminster poll – which is not scheduled to take place until May 2022, though as uncertainty over the country's departure from the EU persists, there remains widespread speculation that an election will be held long before that date.

Mr Reid was Argyll and Bute's MP from 2001 until 2015, when he was defeated by the SNP's Brendan O'Hara.

READ MORE: Reid's 14 years as MP over as SNP wins Argyll and Bute

He fought the seat again when Prime Minister Theresa May called a 'snap' election in June 2017, but trailed a distant third behind Mr O'Hara and the Conservative candidate Gary Mulvaney.

In 2016 he was chosen by the party to contest the Argyll and Bute seat at the Scottish Parliament – which does not include Helensburgh and Lomond – but finished in second place, almost 6,000 votes behind the SNP's Michael Russell.

Mr Reid, who is currently a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Cowal ward on Argyll and Bute Council, said he would make a 'People's Vote' on Brexit the centrepiece of his campaign.

He said: “The Scottish Liberal Democrats are the only party committed to keeping Scotland in both the UK and in Europe.

"The local surveys we have been carrying out in Argyll and Bute show overwhelming support for a People’s Vote."

READ MORE: SNP narrowly holds on to Argyll and Bute seat

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "Alan was an outstanding MP for Argyll and Bute for 14 years and I am delighted that he has been selected to stand again.

"When I am in Argyll and Bute I always hear on the doorstep that he was a highly rated local MP."

Cathy McInnes, the convener of the Argyll and Bute Liberal Democrats, said: “Argyll and Bute needs Alan Reid back. We want an MP with a proven track record of delivering for the constituency, not an SNP MP who will spend another five years arguing for independence.”

Mr Reid's election agent, former Helensburgh councillor Andrew Nisbet, added: “During his 14 years as our local MP, Alan achieved a lot for Argyll and Bute, such as five pence a litre off fuel duty on the islands and the investment of millions of pounds to start the rollout of superfast broadband. #

"He also gave great support to the Faslane Naval Base, by far the biggest employer in Argyll and Bute."