Swinney faces leadership challenge
The Scottish National Party (SNP) is facing a challenge to its leader from a party activist.
The party’s leader, John Swinney is facing a challenge from the former SNP candidate for Glasgow Maryhill, Dr Bill Wilson, who is unhappy about the party’s performance in the last Scottish Executive elections.
Mr Swinney called on his party to end the divisions and work towards the future.
Mr Swinney commented, “The choice is now between my leadership, which is about building the SNP into a strong and credible political force capable of defeating the Labour Party or engaging in student politics that – as we’ve seen so graphically this morning – will delight the Labour Party.”
“This is not a time for people to play games with the future of the SNP; divided parties do not win public support. This is a time for the SNP to come together to build for the future. “I will contest this challenge vigorously to safeguard the future of the SNP. And I am determined to win the contest well.”
The SNP lost eight seats on the Executive elections in May and questions have been raised about the party’s nationalist cause.
The nominations for the leadership closed this morning and revealed that Dr Wilson would be the only candidate to stand against Mr Swinney.
The vote will take place at the SNP’s Annual National Conference, on September 27th, which will be held in the Eden Court Theatre, Inverness.
Speculation had been mounting that the SNP’s deputy leader Roseanna Cunningham or former leadership candidate Alex Neil would join the leadership race.
Tensions have been rising in the party after complaints had been levied at the leadership on their use of ancient battle sites to highlight the call for independence.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper Kenny MacAskill, SNP transport spokesman called on the party to let go of the past.
Mr MacAskill stated, “I’m fed up of having Scottishness being equated with being oppressed by England and getting a victory in 1314 at Bannockburn. The danger is that Scottishness is hijacked by kilted numpties shouting ‘freedom!’ We should commemorate Bannockburn as a nation but it should not be a party rally. Scotland should be perceived by what we have contributed to the world but we are fixated by what’s done to us.”
During an interview on Good Morning Scotland Ms Cunningham revealed that the leadership challenge from Dr Bill Wilson was not
simply acting for himself but standing as a front for a wider anti-Swinney faction fatally weakening Swinney’s leadership.
Labour’s Business Manager Patricia Ferguson commented, “We are less than 24 hours into this contest and the crisis surrounding John Swinney’s leadership is deepening. Even his key lieutenants are unable to kill rumours of a party wide movement against him. This challenge has been inevitable since John Swinney’s disastrous election campaign. The comprehensive failure of gradualism is now leading to a huge swing towards old fashioned, fundamentalist nationalism.”
