SNP under fire for secrecy over size of party
The SNP has been criticised for renewed secrecy over the size of its membership just two weeks after the party’s chief executive resigned over false statements to the press, writes Mark Aitken.
The party has refused to say how many members had left or joined the party following the election of Humza Yousaf.
Two weeks ago the SNP confirmed just over 72,000 members were eligible to vote in the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as party leader, with numbers falling by more than 40% from their 2019 high of 126,000.
But the party has declined to say how many it has since Yousaf was declared the winner of the leadership contest on Monday.
An SNP spokesperson said: “Like all political parties, we will continue to publish the membership number every year.”
Politics expert James Mitchell, professor of public policy at Edinburgh University, said: “The SNP clearly are in a position to give a figure at any time.
“I’m sure if there was a bounce in the membership, they would be trumpeting this very loudly.”
The SNP previously denied accurate reports that 30,000 members had been lost in three months, but two weeks ago was forced to give the figure following pressure from the leadership candidates.
SNP communications chief Murray Foote announced his resignation after he had publicly rubbished a Sunday Mail story suggesting membership figures had dropped 30,000.
The following day, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, husband of Nicola Sturgeon, announced his resignation.
Humza Yousaf was elected the SNP’s new leader on Monday, with around 70% of SNP members eligible to vote in the SNP leadership contest taking part.
Meanwhile, former rural affairs secretary Fergus Ewing yesterday described the Scottish Greens, who have two ministerial posts, as “extremists” who should not be in government.
Green MSP Ross Greer said Ewing was “so far to the right he’d make Boris Johnson blush”.