By-election to go ahead in Margaret Ferrier’s seat as constituents recall MP

A petition to recall Covid rule-breaking MP Margaret Ferrier has passed the required number of signatures in her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.

A total of 11,896 voters validly signed Scotland’s first recall petition.

It means a by-election can now take place in the seat, near Glasgow, though a date is yet to be determined.

Any contest will be keenly fought by Labour and the SNP.

Voting in the recall petition closed on Monday after six weeks.

South Lanarkshire Council administered the petition and tweeted: “Result of the petition to remove Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier.

“Petition successful. Total electorate 81,123. Number of electors who validly signed the petition 11,896. Percentage of electors who validly signed the petition 14.66%. 37 returns were rejected.”

In June, Ms Ferrier was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days, beginning the recall petition process.

She travelled from Scotland to Westminster after testing for Covid in September 2020 and went on to speak in the House of Commons while awaiting the results.

After the test confirmed she was positive for the virus, she took the train back to Scotland.

Originally elected as an SNP MP, she had the whip removed when her Covid rule-breaking came to light.

In September last year she was handed a 270-hour community payback order after admitting culpably and recklessly exposing the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death”.

The 62-year-old has resisted calls to resign from her seat and urged her constituents not to sign the petition.

First Minister and SNP leader Humza Yousaf has said the circumstances in Rutherglen and Hamilton West are “challenging” for his party, but it nevertheless has “solid support”.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said her party is confident of a victory in a by-election, saying a defeat would lead to deep “soul searching”.

She described the seat as an “important milestone” towards Labour’s aim of forming a majority government in the general election.

Speaking following the result, she said: “The people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have made their voices heard and demanded change.

“For far too long the area has been failed – let down by two incompetent governments and left voiceless in Parliament by their rule-breaking MP.

“This cannot go on a day longer than it needs to – the SNP must call a by-election at the very first opportunity so Rutherglen and Hamilton West can get the representation it deserves as soon as possible.

“Scottish Labour’s candidate Michael Shanks is ready to hit the ground running and be the local champion his home constituency deserves.”

Scottish Conservatives deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said she is “looking forward” to campaigning with her party’s candidate, Scottish Conservatives group leader on Glasgow City Council, Thomas Kerr.

She said: “Margaret Ferrier’s constituents have delivered a very clear verdict on her reckless and selfish actions at the height of the pandemic.

“Of course, this by-election would have happened a lot sooner if she had done the right thing and resigned as an MP straight away. Instead, she brazenly stuck it out to the bitter end, which was a total insult to her constituents who made huge sacrifices during Covid.”

She claimed only her party is focused on the “real priorities” of people in the constituency, adding: “The SNP are engulfed in chaos and continue to relentlessly pursue independence, rather than tackling issues that really matter, while Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour party are too weak to stand up to them on an overwhelming number of issues.”

In 2019, Ms Ferrier won the constituency with a majority of 5,230, taking 44.2% of the vote.