Cherry’s fury at ‘unreasonable’ party chiefs
NATIONALIST MP Joanna Cherry has hit out at party chiefs over ‘unprecedented’ rule changes which have forced her to back out of the race for a Holyrood seat.
the Nationalist’s governing body has ruled that any MP hoping to contest a scottish parliament seat would have to resign before the election.
this would leave them and their staff out of a job in a move Miss Cherry branded ‘unreasonable’.
she had previously stated she intended to stand for Ruth Davidson’s Edinburgh Central seat in next May’s Holyrood election.
Former SNP deputy leader angus Robertson is also standing for the seat. Mr Robertson is a close ally of Nicola sturgeon while Miss Cherry aligns herself with alex salmond. initially it was suggested that the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee could bring in a new requirement meaning MPs hoping to stand for Holyrood would have to secure at least £10,000 of funding towards the subsequent by-election.
However, it is understood that a meeting of party chiefs last night backed ‘option D’ which will mean MPs forced to resign from Westminster before they can stand in a scottish parliament election.
Miss Cherry said this will make it ‘impossible’ for there to be a ‘fair and open contest’ to select a candidate for the constituency.
she said she would not usually comment on ‘leaks of internal party matters’, but added that ‘most fair-minded people will see the events of the last few days for what they are’.
With politicians such as Mr salmond having previously served as both an MP and an MSP, Miss Cherry said: ‘it is unprecedented to demand a parliamentarian make themselves and their constituency staff unemployed in order to be eligible. Unless circumstances change, i won’t be seeking nomination for Holyrood in this election.’
SNP branch members in Edinburgh Central will choose the party’s candidate for the seat.
Miss Cherry’s statement comes days after Mr Robertson restated his desire to win the seat for the party, saying: ‘i believe that i can win here with the support of SNP members and voters of all parties who don’t want to see the area represented by a pro-Brexit MSP.’