Margaret Ferrier has already been suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days for a serious breach of Covid rules. Photo: Jane Barlow/PA
Margaret Ferrier, an MP who broke the lockdown, was expelled from the House of Commons, sparking a new by-election that would give Labor a chance to double its seats north of the border.
< p>Her constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West will be returned to the polls after a recall petition — the fourth in UK history — reached the threshold to trigger a new vote.
The initial challenge was launched when a former SNP MP was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days for a serious violation of Covid rules.
She has already been ordered to do 270 hours of unpaid work after she admitted that he endangered the lives of others by ignoring self-isolation orders in September 2020.
Tuesday evening results showed that 11,896 of the 81,000 registered voters in Rutherglen and Hamilton West signed the petition, which exceeds the 10% required for a by-election.
Announcing the results, South Lanarkshire Council tweeted: “Petition accepted. The total electorate is 81,123 people. The number of voters who legally signed the petition is 11,896. The percentage of voters who correctly signed the petition is 14.66%. 37 returns were rejected.»
Ms Ferrier confessed to criminally and recklessly putting the public at risk of infections, illness and death& #39; Credit & Copyright: Jane Barlow/PA
This means that Ms. Ferrier has now been forced to vacate her seat, giving Sir Keir Starmer the opportunity to begin the process of restoring Labor's presence in Scotland, where his party currently has only one MP.
The contest. also represents the first parliamentary test for Humza Yousaf, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP.
Ms Ferrier, who was an independent after being kicked out of the SNP, snatched the seat from Labor in 2019 with a majority of 5,230.
But Sir Keir will have high hopes for his return after a resurgence of support north of the border.
Anas Savar, leader of the Scottish Labor Party, has already visited the chair on several occasions, along with Sir Keir and a number of high-ranking figures in the shadow cabinet.
Support for the SNP has also declined in recent months amid a police probe into the party's finances, and Mr Yusuf has had low personal approval ratings since he replaced Nicola Sturgeon in March.
Mr. Yousaf is due to start his party's campaign on Wednesday morning with Cathy Loudon, SNP candidate and local council member.
«This neighborhood has failed for far too long»
Jackie Bailey , the Scottish Labor deputy leader, will launch his party's campaign alongside schoolteacher candidate Michael Shanks.
«The voice of the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West has been heard and they are demanding change,» said Ms Bailey.
«For far too long this area has failed — failed by two incompetent governments, and left without a vote in Parliament by a member of Parliament who violated the rules.»
«Starmer made a political choice to keep children in poverty»
But G- Yousaf said: “Every Labor candidate who runs in Scotland, including here in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, does so on a regressive platform, supporting one of the worst Tory policies.
«Keir Starmer has made a political choice to keep children and working families in poverty.»
Ms Loudon added: «That's why, unlike my opponents, I will oppose any policy that pushes children into misery, such as limiting the allowance for two children and the tax on bedrooms.”
The Tories chose Thomas Kerr. , the leader of their group in the local council, fight for a seat.
Megan Gallagher, their deputy, said: «The voters of Margaret Ferrier have issued a very clear verdict on her reckless and selfish actions in the midst of a pandemic.»
“Of course, these by-elections would have happened much earlier if she had done the right thing and immediately resigned from the post of deputy. Instead, she brazenly held it to the bitter end, which was a complete insult to her constituents, who made huge sacrifices during Covid.” A by-election ruling when an independent MP leaves the House of Commons implies that the Tories will leave this SNP.
Brendan O'Hara, head of the SNP, is expected to do so when parliament returns from recess in early September.
A by-election will be held between 21 and 27 business days after that. This means it will most likely take place either on Thursday 5 or 12 October.
The defeat of the SNP will give Mr Yusaf a huge headache ahead of his party's conference in Aberdeen starting in a few days Later. 15 October.
Labor's 'Key Test'.
Lord Hayward, Tory poll guru, said the by-election would be a «key test» for Labour's resistance.
«If Labor fails to take a seat after all the SNP's suffering, it will be a major setback for Keir Starmer,» he told The Telegraph. risk of infection, sickness and death” at a Glasgow Sheriff Court hearing last year.
She was tested for Covid after showing symptoms of the virus in September 2020, but instead of being isolated, she visited several businesses. and a church in her area, and then took a train from Glasgow to London.
She then visited Parliament, speaking in the House of Commons, and spoke for 20 minutes with Jim Shannon, MP for the DUP, taking turns when the vaccines from Covid yet.
After learning she had the virus, she took the train back to Glasgow rather than self-isolating in London.
Ms Ferrier told the BBC: «A while ago I have decided that I will not run in the upcoming by-election. It was a difficult and tedious process that has now come to an end, and I do not want to prolong it.
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