Oh dear. It’s not a good time to be an SNP politician, what with the recent electoral wipeout, the party’s muddled stance on the Middle East and party insiders already plotting who their next leader will be. And now it transpires that the party has lost yet more members, leaving its card-carrying supporters at a new low of just over 64,000. Crikey…
After the bitter leadership contest that tarnished the reputation of the SNP, membership numbers fell from 125,000 in 2019 to around 72,000 – a staggering drop of 43 per cent. Not that the party was particularly keen to admit it, with then-spin doctor Murray Foote resigning after it emerged he had inadvertently misled the media over the exodus. Now it emerges that even more paid-up members have ditched the party, almost halving the highs of the 2019 boom.
But while today’s Electoral Commission figures suggest the part is slightly better off now compared to the last 12 months, with a surplus of over £650,000 compared to an £800,000 deficit in 2022, there is more bad news for the secessionists. It can also be revealed that the flailing Nats still owe Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell – who was charged with embezzling money from his party in April – a whopping £60,000. In fact, the party has over £80,000 outstanding in loan payments, up more than £10,000 on 2022. And the auditors were rather unimpressed with the party’s record-keeping too, concluding that:
During the course of our audit we identified that original documentation in respect to some items of cash and cheques received, relating to membership, donations and raffia income were not kept by the Party prior to July 2023. We have been unable to satisfy ourselves by alternative means regarding the completeness of income for the current and prior year in respect of the above limitation in scope. Consequently, we are unable to determine whether any adjustment to income is necessary in the current year or prior year and the potential impact on opening reserves accordingly.
It’s not like the Nats haven’t already had more than their fair share of auditor issues, eh? The news follows a rather dire general election result for the separatists, who were left with just nine seats after the national poll. Last month Mr S learnt that each MP was expected to pay approximately £250 a month to party HQ – and so the exodus means that the SNP will miss out on over £100,000 a year over the next parliamentary term. When it rains, it pours…
Never mind leaving the Union – perhaps the Nats should be more focused on who is leaving their party…
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