Ged keen to stand for Labour
The Labour Party is lining up a candidate for a potential by-election in Rutherglen – despite shamed MP Margaret Ferrier stating she has no intention of resigning the seat.
Scottish party leader Richard Leonard confirmed the plans last week, with former MP Ged Killen (pictured) making it clear he would like the chance to regain the seat he lost last year.
The move means that Labour will be prepared to fight a by-election if Ferrier is removed by her own constituents under recall petition powers.
Despite previously being critical of Leonard’s leadership, Mr Killen told our sister paper the Sunday Mail, he does not think that will be a barrier to him being selected again.
He said:“Margaret has to go. It’s an affront to democracy that she is still there.
“There have been a lot of people in the constituency whose jobs have been impacted by the pandemic. To not have an MP they can trust to go and see is completely unacceptable.”
He added:“I’ve already made my intentions known that I would be interested in putting myself through the selection process.”
The Reformer previously told how controversial former Labour man George Galloway is intending to stand for his new Alliance for Unity party.
However, Ms Ferrier has continued to insist that she will not quit, claiming to have had strong support from throughout the area.
Mr Killen has been critical of Labour’s performance at the polls in the past year.
However, he claimed he has confidence in Leonard to turn the party’s fortunes around.
He stated:“I have been critical in the past but the Labour Party is a broad church and Richard knows I’m not afraid to speak my mind. I’ve been disappointed in how Labour have performed in the last year. But if Richard says he has a plan to turn things around then I trust him that he will do that.”
Ferrier has been suspended from the SNP and had the whip withdrawn, meaning she now sits as an independent.
She has been told to step down by her former party and Nicola Sturgeon and she is facing a probe by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. If she is suspended from the Commons for two weeks, a by-election could be called if 10 per cent of her constituents sign a recall petition. She will be allowed to stand in the by-election as an independent.
She voted in Parliament last week using a proxy vote, with the MP Jonathan Edwards, currently suspended from the Plaid Cymru party after being cautioned by police for an assault, voting on her behalf regarding changes to an agriculture bill.