A SIXTH SNP MP has announced plans to step down at the next General Election – and the Scottish Tories are absolutely over the moon.
The Scots Conservatives’ chair claimed that Mhairi Black’s resignation was “yet another damning verdict from a senior SNP MP on the failing leadership of both Humza Yousaf and Stephen Flynn”.
Of course, 40 Tory MPs have also announced plans to resign at the next election – including two of the party’s most senior Scottish members.
Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, and Douglas Ross, the Tory group leader at Holyrood, have both said they will step down at the next General Election.
That's one-third of the whole contingent of Scots Tory MPs.
And according to Conservative Home, a full 38 other Conservatives will be quitting Westminster with them. They include senior figures such as Sajid Javid, George Eustice, and Dominic Raab, as well as more recent recruits such as Dehenna Davison.
And one person missing from Conservative Home’s list is Boris Johnson, the disgraced former prime minister who instantly resigned as an MP rather than face the music after he was found to have deliberately and repeatedly misled parliament.
So, as it stands, a total of 41 Tory MPs have either already quit or will do so before the next General Election.
The Tories are going to be furious when they hear what the Scottish Tories are saying that means.
In a statement issued in the name of Craig Hoy (below), the group said: “Mhairi Black’s decision to step down is yet another damning verdict from a senior SNP MP on the failing leadership of both Humza Yousaf and Stephen Flynn.
“As much as the depute leader tries to blame Westminster, in typical SNP fashion, the public won’t be fooled. Mhairi Black knows chaos is engulfing her party, which is why they are fighting like Nats in a sack.
“It speaks volumes about how bitter those feuds have become that Mhairi Black has thrown in the towel, just a few months after agreeing to become deputy leader, and decided not to fight another election despite not yet turning 30.
“It is the Scottish public who are paying the price for the SNP’s infighting and civil war with the party completely distracted from focusing on Scotland’s real priorities such as the cost-of-living crisis and fixing our NHS.”
Scots Tory MSP Stephen Kerr also took a jab on social media after Black’s resignation. He wrote: “Will the last person to leave the SNP please etc etc.”
Will the last person to leave the SNP please etc etc
— Stephen Kerr MSP (@RealStephenKerr) July 4, 2023
As Twitter users pointed out, Black is leaving Westminster, not the SNP. In fact, she has made clear she will remain a campaigner for the party.
And political watchers might be able to read between the lines about what Kerr thinks about his own Scottish leadership.
He was demoted from the Scottish Tory frontbench just last week after announcing plans to try and enter Westminster again – despite holding a seat at Holyrood.
