Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier will face a recall petition after MPs voted in favour of her 30-day suspension. The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP will then face a by-election if 10 per cent of her constituents sign the petition.
Some 40 MPs voted against the suspension as Boris Johnson allies sided with Ferrier. But they were unable to prevent her facing a recall petition as 185 MPs voted in favour of the suspension.
Ferrier lost the SNP whip and received a criminal conviction after travelling from London to Glasgow by train while infected with Covid at the height of the pandemic.
The House of Commons standards committee recommended that Ferrier receive a 30-day suspension from the house for breaking Covid rules. She appealed the decision but was unsuccessful.
A decision had been due to be made in the Commons on May 25 but the UK Government decided to pull the motion at the last minute.
A Government source said this was because there were not enough MPs in the chamber, but Labour Shadow Scotland Secretary Ian Murray accused Ferrier of colluding with allies of former Prime Minister Johnson and Alba MPs to vote it down.
This appeared to be the case on Tuesday afternoon as Alba MPs Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey voted against the suspension alongside Johnson allies. The 32 Tories who voted against included Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Johnson could face a similar vote soon as the privileges committee is deciding whether he intentionally or recklessly misled the house over Partygate.
Senior SNP figures had previously thought that Ferrier's suspension wouldn't go to a vote as they did not think she would have enough support.
But when the motion was read in the House of Commons there were several loud 'No' shouts, sending the house to a vote.
Fourteen SNP MPs voted in favour of the suspension, including Westminster leader Stephen Flynn. Allan Dorans, who opposed the 30-day suspension in the standards committee, voted in favour of it when it came to the Commons.
But Glasgow North West MP Carol Monaghan did not vote and sat beside Ferrier in the chamber in what seemed to be a demonstration of support.
The recall petition will be open for six weeks. If 10 per cent or more of the constituents have signed it by the end of the period, Ferrier will be ejected from the seat and a by-election will be called. It would likely be months before the by-election takes place.
Ferrier would be allowed to stand in a by-election, but she would only do so as an independent candidate. Labour, which recently selected teacher Michael Shanks to stand in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, believes it can take a seat they last won in 2017.
This would also be the first electoral test for Humza Yousaf since becoming SNP leader and First Minister in March. His party is yet to choose a candidate. Having initially won the seat in the 2015 general election, Ferrier was beaten by Labour's Ged Killen in 2017. She took the seat back in 2019 with a 5,230 majority.
She was given 270 hours of community service in September 2022 after pleading guilty to breaking Covid travel rules. Ferrier did a Covid on September 26, 2020 after showing Covid symptoms, including a cough.
While waiting for her results, she travelled in and around Glasgow as well as between Scotland and London. Ferrier also spoke in the Houses of Parliament and visited other locations in London.
She was suspended by the SNP in October 2020. Then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for her to resign at the time, but Ferrier refused to do so.
SNP Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election campaign coordinator David Linden said: "There must now be a by-election, which the SNP has been calling for since Ms Ferrier's covid rule-breach first came to light in 2020.
"People in Rutherglen and Hamilton West are paying an unacceptable price for the damaging policies of the Tories and pro-Brexit Labour Party, as the cost of living soars.
"The SNP is the only party offering a real alternative. We will put the cost of living, NHS and independence at the heart of our campaign - and we'll work hard for every vote to ensure the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West can elect a strong SNP MP to stand up for them.”
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