As was obvious would happen, even before July 4, defeated SNP MPs are eyeing the possibility of merely changing gravy trains – bidding for a seat at Holyrood in 2026. It is now widely recognised that the SNP's talent puddle at Holyrood is at least partly responsible for the lack of planning and poor governance we have witnessed there. The SNP’s problem is that, with a very few notable exceptions, the vanquished from Westminster are not much better.
The toe-curling embarrassment of public utterances by Anum Qaisar, Steven Bonnar and David Linden, to name but three, confirm that such people are not fit to be members of either chamber. There are others besides – too many to name and some still in post. Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to our Opinion newsletter Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
But now Joanna Cherry is free to aim for Holyrood, if her extremely blunt comments about the SNP’s former leadership do not disqualify her in her party’s eyes ( Scotsman, July 15 ). A hastily passed SNP rule prevented her from standing for Holyrood in 2021 without first resigning her seat at Westminster. Whether Stephen Flynn will fall foul of the same rule or whether it will now be rescinded remains to be seen.
It will be difficult for him to have a tilt at the party’s leadership if .