LONDON (Reuters) – A Scottish lawmaker has been ousted from Britain’s parliament for violating COVID rules, prompting a by-election that will gauge the resurgence of support for the opposition Labour Party in Scotland.
Margaret Ferrier, a former lawmaker for the Scottish National Party (SNP), represented Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Along with other nationalist politicians, she helped displace Labour from its Scottish stronghold in 2015.
The upcoming by-election will determine whether Labour can regain its footing in Scotland, as it needs to regain some of its former dominance in order to have a shot at returning to power in the upcoming nationwide election, expected next year.
In 2015, Labour lost almost all of its Scottish seats to the SNP. The nationalists maintained the support of pro-independence voters following the 2014 referendum, in which Scots voted to remain part of the United Kingdom by a margin of 55% to 45%.
Since then, Labour has struggled to make significant progress, although Ferrier herself lost to Labour in 2017 before reclaiming her seat in 2019.
In June, a poll indicated that Labour is projected to win the most seats in Scotland for the first time since 2010. This comes amidst internal turmoil within the SNP due to the resignation of long-time leader Nicola Sturgeon and an ongoing police investigation into its finances.
The SNP secured a majority of 5,230 votes in Rutherglen and Hamilton West in 2019. While the Conservatives have a presence in other parts of Scotland, they came in a distant third in this constituency. Hence, the by-election is likely to provide more insight into Labour’s fortunes than those of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party.
The by-election comes as a result of a controversy surrounding Ferrier’s violation of coronavirus lockdown rules. In September 2020, she tested positive for COVID-19 after delivering a speech in the House of Commons. Instead of isolating as required, she traveled over 400 miles back to Scotland by train.
Ferrier was initially suspended from her party and had since been serving as an independent. She apologized for what she described as “an error in judgment,” but resisted calls to resign.
In March, the parliamentary standards committee recommended a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons, triggering the process of a recall petition. A lawmaker can be removed if 10% or more of registered electors sign the petition.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Kate Holton)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
