Ruthless SNP will bid to oust their own MPs... again
TWO controversial Nationalist MPs face losing their seats as the SNP looks set to field new candidates against them in the June election.
Michelle Thomson and Natalie McGarry were both forced to quit the SNP party whip after it emerged they were involved in police investigations just months after their General Election victories in 2015.
Despite resigning from the party, the pair have remained at Westminster as independent MPs and still sit alongside and vote with their former colleagues.
But yesterday, the SNP confirmed it will field candidates in the constituencies held by Mrs Thomson and Miss McGarry meaning their run as MPs could be over.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday said the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will meet in the ‘coming days’ to select candidates but refused to comment on Mrs Thomson or Miss McGarry.
She said: ‘We will be defending all of the seats we won last time around, and I’ll be fighting this election to win.’
A spokesman confirmed the SNP will stand candidates in all areas.
As both Mrs Thomson and Miss McGarry are suspended they cannot stand for the party. Last night, both failed to confirm if they will stand for re-election in June as independent candidates.
Mrs Thomson won the Edinburgh West seat for the SNP in 2015, but, following her involvement in a police probe into mortgage fraud, she was forced to quit the party.
She has since been reported to the procurator fiscal following the investigation along with her husband, Peter Thomson, former business partner, Frank Gilbride, and solicitor, Christopher Hales.
The probe came after Mr Hales was struck off following a series of deals which raised questions over possible mortgage fraud.
It is not yet known whether the MP will face charges. However, following the revelation voters in Edinburgh West backed the Liberal Democrats in the Holyrood elections.
It is understood the Liberal Democrats will seek to win the Westminster seat, which has a similar boundary to the Scottish parliament constituency.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: ‘Who the SNP field in Edinburgh West is an internal matter for them, but the Lib Dems will be ready. Whoever they choose will have a real battle on their hands.’
In Glasgow East it is thought Labour will look to take back the seat from the SNP, with current MP Miss McGarry suspended.
She was arrested and charged over a series of fraud allegations following a ‘missing money’ scandal. It followed claims £30,000 was missing from the Women for Independence (WFI) group, which she co-founded. The investigation was launched in November 2015, and last September Miss McGarry was charged with five separate allegations.
Former SNP councillor Rosa Zambonini has put her name forward as a possible candidate for the Glasgow East seat.
The mother-of-two quit frontline politics six weeks ago claiming there was a ‘smear campaign’ against her at North Lanarkshire Council, suggesting scrutiny of her ‘looks and selfies’ was too much.
She said: ‘After deliberation and discussion with my family and colleagues I have decided to seek selection for the SNP candidacy in the Glasgow East Westminster Constituency.’
Yesterday, the Crown Office confirmed both cases remain live.