THE SNP’s Ian Blackford is likely to stand to be the party’s new Westminster leader, it is understood.
Blackford, who was part of the social justice team in the group, held on to his seat in Ross, Skye and Lochaber and now has the second biggest majority of SNP MPs.
He won 5,919 more votes than first-time Tory candidate Robert MacKenzie, who got 9,561.
The position became vacant after Angus Robertson lost his seat in the General Election – one of 21 MPs to lose their seats including former First Minister Alex Salmond.
Ruth Davidson’s Tories won a total of 13 seats, mostly in north-east and southern Scotland, while Labour held on to Edinburgh South and gained six further seats to take their total to seven.
A SNP source told The National he thought Blackford would be a strong candidate and was well placed to put forward positions that could see off a Tory resurgence in rural areas.
“Ian seems to be the natural successor and when we look at where we were losing, it’s really important that we keep a rural voice because that’s where we’re going to have to go back to winning,” he said.
“The main thing we’ll have to do if there is an election in six months or two years is get our progressive message across and getting the Tories out of those areas where they’ve got elected.”
Other names being linked with the post include Edinburgh South West MP Joanna Cherry, Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard and North East Fife MP Stephen Gethins.
Blackford’s supporters say he is popular in the party and would perform well holding the Prime Minister to account at PMQs every Wednesday.
Sources close to Cherry told the BBC she was also “seriously considering” running for the job.
The SNP won the General Election in Scotland, despite losing 21 seats. They will start the new parliament with 35 MPs. Robertson lost his Moray seat to the Conservatives’ Douglas Ross after Thursday’s vote.
The 13 Scottish Conservative MPs are due to meet in Westminster tomorrow morning.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel