By-election triggered as shamed ex-SNP MP kicked out of Commons by voters
A shamed former SNP MP who was convicted of breaking Covid laws has been dramatically kicked out - setting up a crunch battle for Labour in Scotland.
Disgraced Margaret Ferrier has stubbornly refused to step down, but thousands of voters finally took the chance to recall her, triggering a by-election. Keir Starmer's party will have a chance to test its resurgence in Scotland after months of SNP turmoil, with Scottish Labour desperate to win back Ms Ferrier's Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat.
Nearly 12,000 voters signed a recall petition after MPs backed a 30 day suspension for Ms Ferrier, more than two years after she admitted travelling from London to Scotland by train despite knowing she had Covid. The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West admitted at Glasgow sheriff court last year that she had exposed the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death” and was ordered to do 270 hours of community service.
But she ignored calls to resign as an MP even after the SNP withdrew the party whip in October 2020. The seat is viewed as "eminently winnable" by Scottish Labour, with candidate Michael Shanks saying yesterday: "For weeks I have been hearing how desperately the people in Rutherglen and Hamilton West want change. It is time for a fresh start here, and I am ready to hit the ground running."
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Labour candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election Michael Shanks (right) during a visit to Rutherglen (PA)Labour is desperate to capitalise on collapsing public support for the SNP, which was rocked by a Police Scotland probe into party finances. Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, her husband - ex chief executive Peter Murrell - and former treasurer Colin Beattie have been arrested during the ongoing investigation.
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Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said her party is confident of victory, admitting that a defeat would lead to deep "soul searching". She described the seat as an "important milestone" towards Labour's aim of forming a majority government in the general election.
Dame Jackie said: "The people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have made their voices heard and demanded change. For far too long the area has been failed - let down by two incompetent governments and left voiceless in Parliament by their rule-breaking MP."
Ms Ferrier, 62, was booted out of the SNP after her September 2020 trip came to light, with former party leader Nicola Sturgeon describing it at the time as "the worst breach imaginable". Ms Ferrier took a Covid test in Scotland because she was feeling unwell, but this didn't stop her travelling to London before the result came back.
She spoke in the Commons before getting confirmation she had the virus, travelling back across the UK by train the following day. After Ms Ferrier admitted what she'd done, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was "really very angry" and branded her behaviour "reckless".
The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West admitted at Glasgow sheriff court last year that she had exposed the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death”. Ms Ferrier was elected for the SNP in December 2019 with a 5,230 majority, and has sat as an independent MP since the SNP suspended her in October the following year.
A by-election victory for Keir Starmer ’s party would fuel hopes Labour is finally making a comeback north of the border after its 2015 parliamentary rout. Ms Ferrier's seat had been a Labour seat for the majority of the time since it was created by a boundary change in 2005.
Last week former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond spoke out in support of Ms Ferrier, accusing Ms Sturgeon of thoring her to "media wolves". But Humza Yousaf, who currently holds the post, hit back: "It's not just an error of judgment of course, Margaret Ferrier was guilty of a number of charges as well. That's pretty serious.
"I think Alex Salmond, perhaps not for the first time in this regard, is in a minority in terms of how Margaret Ferrier has been treated."
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