The Yousaf terror has begun and already the new regime isn’t off to a great start. Day one saw his calls for another referendum brushed aside by No. 10. Day two brought the refusals of Kate Forbes and Ivan McKee to serve in his government. And now on day three, the Privileges Committee have handed Margaret Ferrier a 30-day suspension from parliament, potentially triggering a by-election in her seat of Rutherglen and Hamilton West (majority: 5,230). What joy will day four bring?
Ferrier of course is the hapless halfwit who admitted travelling down to London after developing Covid symptoms. Not only did the MP fail to stay at home to prevent potentially spending the disease back in 2020, she also decided to speak in Parliament, and then decided to travel back to Scotland on the train after receiving a positive Covid test. At the time, she was required to self-isolate under the law – talk about the brightest and best. Last year she pleaded guilty to wilfully exposing people ‘to the risk of infection, illness and death’ and sentenced to 270 hours of community service.
Ferrier has been suspended from the SNP for more than two years but has only today been slapped with the 30-day suspension from the House of Commons, following a lengthy investigation. Under the rules, any suspension of 10 days or more can trigger the Recall of MPs Act which means that if 10 per cent of an MP’s constituents sign a petition, a by-election shall be held. MPs will now vote on whether to back the suspension; if they do, Ms Ferrier can appeal the ruling or resign. In the case of the latter a by-election would be held which she would not fight. Scottish Labour will be smacking their lips at the prospect of such a fight, with Rutherglen a key target in the next election.
The other element to all this is the breakdown of the votes by the Privileges Committee: though the decision passed with a majority, the Tory vote was split for the first time. Three Conservatives – Sir Charles Walker, Sir Bernard Jenkin and Alberto Costa – voted against the decision. All three are coincidentally sitting on the panel which is judging whether Boris Johnson lied to the House. The trio suggested reducing Ferrier’s sanction to nine sitting days which is under the recall threshold. That is a verdict which Johnson would be delighted to receive as it would mean he would avoid a likely by-election.
Is that a sign of things to come when the committee rules on Johnson’s fate? Mr S looks forward to finding out…
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