Former SNP MPs rebel against the party and vote against early poll

Two Scottish MPs who face being snubbed in the SNP’s candidate selection process voted against a snap general election.

Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson, who are suspended from Nicola Sturgeon’s party, were among 13 MPs who did not back a return to the polls in a Commons vote yesterday.

They could lose their £70,000-a-year job if the SNP’s national executive committee refuses this weekend to put them forward as candidates. Both members resigned the SNP whip following allegations.

Ms McGarry, who sits as an independent for Glasgow East, was charged by the police last year over allegations of fraud. It relates to potential missing funds from the campaign group Women for Independence.

Mrs Thomson, who is the independent member for Edinburgh Western, has been reported to prosecutors after a police investigation into allegations of mortgage fraud.

In a dig at the SNP, whose MPs abstained from the vote on an early general election, Ms Thomson tweeted: “I voted no against #GE17 – this is a time for leadership from the opposition not abstention.”

Alyn Smith, the SNP MEP, refused to rule out standing as the candidate for Edinburgh Western and confirmed he has been asked by the local branch, and others, to put his name forward.

“The prospect of taking out an opponent is appealing but I have got a role just now and if I walked away from the MEP role just now I don’t think it would be right,” he said.

Earlier, Ms McGarry announced she was pregnant after collapsing during Prime Minister’s Questions.

An outgoing SNP councillor, Rosa Zambonini, has indicated she would be seeking the nomination to be the party’s candidate in Ms McGarry’s seat.

Natalie McGarry, who now sits as an independent MP for Glasgow East, announced she was pregnant after collapsing at Westminster.