Scotland’s “trailblazing” First Minister Humza Yousaf has admitted last night’s thumping by-election defeat in Rutherglen and Hamilton West was “disappointing” for the SNP, and the “buck stops” with him. He then carefully explained that it really Margaret Ferrier’s fault…
“A disappointing night. A tough night for the SNP. Very difficult of course. There’s no doubt a number of factors that played into that. We were told time and time again on the doorstep that Margaret Ferrier’s reckless actions were counting against us. Of course the police investigation had an impact as well… The buck does absolutely stop me, but I think everybody knows this particular by-election had some very difficult contextual factors around it.”
A “disappointing night” is one way of describing a 20.4% swing…
Almost three years after Margaret Ferrier’s flagrant Covid rule-breaking came to light, we finally have a date for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. The South Lanarkshire returning officer has confirmed the poll will be held on October 5th. Based on current polling, Labour are well on course for a gain from the SNP.
That should get their conference, which starts on October 8th, off to a good start…
Margaret Ferrier has lost her seat of Rutherglen and Hamilton West after 11,986 voters – or 14.7% of the electorate – signed a recall petition. The result means a by-election will soon be held in the seat, formerly won by the SNP.
Going by the polls, Labour will fancy their chances…
The recall petition into suspended MP Margaret Ferrier finally opened at 9a.m. this morning, and she has now resorted to begging her constituents not to sign it in a last-ditch effort to save her parliamentary career. Last night, having already lost the appeal to overturn her suspension for riding a train while Covid-positive, Ferrier posted this statement to her constituency website – try not to feel too sorry for her:
“As an Independent MP, my constituents are my top priority and always have been. The most important thing is that they are able to access the right support when they need it, and can be confident that their views are represented. My record speaks for itself in this respect.
I do not have any desire or need to play into party politics, which inevitably distracts from constituency issues and the needs of local residents. While parties have already spent months arguing about their candidates for a by-election that has not even been confirmed, they have disregarded the very real issues faced by many in our community.
That is why so many constituents have expressed to me that they do not want a by-election.
Some constituents have told me they feel the instructions provided by the local authority are unclear. If you wish to see me continue as your MP, then do not sign the petition paper.
[…]
I made a mistake – for which I continue to apologise and have faced severe punishment. It has not deterred me from doing right by constituents and continuing to fight on their behalf. I hope that my constituents will recognise this.”
Given the SNP and Labour are pushing hard for the by-election to be called – around 8,000 signatures are needed – the chances of Ferrier clinging on are looking increasingly slim. That train has left the station…
The Kangaroo Court wanted to whack Boris with an astonishing ninety-day Commons suspension in today’s report. For context, that is the second-longest Commons suspension in the last 74 years. The only MP who got it worse was Keith Vaz, who was suspended for six months for offering to buy drugs for prostitutes. Boris’s crimes are eating cake in his office and upsetting the Kangaroo Court by calling it a “Kangaroo Court”…
His suspension would have been three times longer than Margaret Ferrier’s, who spoke in the Commons while showing Covid symptoms, and then took a train all the way back to Glasgow knowing she’d tested positive. She got thirty days. Claudia Webbe, who was actually convicted of harassment, was never suspended from Parliament in the first place.
Since Boris has ruined the Committee’s fun by leaving early, their substitute punishment is to suggest a ban on his ex-MP’s parliamentary pass – a sanction usually reserved for the likes of John Bercow, who bullied his way out of a peerage. The Committee’s over reaction only further demonstrates how unsuitable the membership were in the first place…
The House of Commons has approved the Committee on Standards’ recommendation to ban Margaret Ferrier for 30 days by a margin of 185-40. The length of the ban surpasses the threshold for a recall petition, paving the way for a by-election in marginal Rutherglen and Hamilton West. It’s nearly over…
There was a strong cohort of Tory MPs opposing the motion.
Ferrier was suspended for breaching covid rules…
