SNP activists are gearing up for a possible Holyrood by-election as a result of calls for Ruth Davidson to stand down following revelations she has accepted a second job for a lobbying and communications firm.
The prospect of a contest in Edinburgh Central could see some of the highest profile politicians in Nicola Sturgeon’s party throw their hats into the ring to win the party’s internal selection race.
Former SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson and Joanna Cherry (above), the SNP MP for Edinburgh South West and the party’s home affairs and justice spokeswoman at Westminster, have previously expressed interest in fighting to regain the seat for the SNP at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
Alison Dickie, the SNP councillor for Newington/Southside who was defeated by Davidson in 2016, has also spoken of her wish to stand for the seat again.
READ MORE: Ruth Davidson in row over new employer's anti-independence client
The former teacher lost to the then Scottish Conservative chief by 610 votes but went on to get elected a year later as an Edinburgh city councillor.
Dickie is now vice-convener of the Education Committee on the city council.
“I keep getting asked if I will stand again and I will make my decision when the process formally opens,” she told the Sunday National in May this year. “I keep all options open and I consider everything.”
Dickie was selected from an all-female shortlist of SNP candidates ahead of the 2016 election and hinted she would like to see a women-only internal contest again.
READ MORE: Davidson ALREADY embroiled in conflict of interest row over new job
In April, the former SNP MSP for the area Marco Biagi said he believed Cherry was the frontrunner to win the the party’s nomination. The former local government minister said there was a “definite warmth” among local activists for the MP as a result of her prominent role in the campaign to revoke Article 50.
Her profile has further increased following her leading role in the successful legal challenge last month over Boris Johnson’s failed bid to prorogue parliament for five weeks.
SNP branches have yet to select candidates for the Scottish Parliament election in 2021 with the process expected to begin shortly.
READ MORE: SNP candidate eyeing up Holyrood rematch in Davidson's constituency
Speaking to The National Biagi said in April: “Joanna has a massive profile right now through her work on the EU, but we don’t know what the situation will be in six months time, what sort of bids [the prospective candidates] will be putting forward or if indeed they all run ... it’s exciting.”
Biagi won the seat in 2011 defeating the Labour incumbent Sarah Boyack by just 237 votes, but stood down in 2016 to pursue an academic career.
He did not say who he would back. “It’s a line up that would flatter a national office. I don’t think the last [SNP] deputy leadership race had such a range of people with such weight within the party running. Edinburgh Central can be grateful there is such an interest,” he said.
Robertson (below) stood down as the SNP’s deputy leader last year after losing his Westminster seat to the Tories’ Douglas Ross in Moray at the 2017 snap Westminster election. Since then he has launched Progress Scotland, a pro-independence research group.
When asked about a return to active politics Robertson told the Sunday Times earlier this year: “While it is an honour to be linked by others to the constituency, the nomination process has not even started. I am totally focused on my work with my new venture Progress Scotland, and to the challenges of impending parenthood.”
Alyn Smith also showed an interest in the Edinburgh Central Holyrood seat. However, the MEP has since secured the party’s nomination to fight Stirling at a forthcoming General Election where he aims to oust Tory MP Stephen Kerr, who has a majority of just 148 votes.
The SNP, the LibDems and Labour have urged Davidson to quit immediately as a MSP after it emerged she has accepted a second job as a senior advisor with lobbying firm Tulchan Communications. Her role will be helping the company’s corporate clients “navigate a continually evolving public and corporate landscape”. It is understood Davidson, who earns £63,579 as an MSP, will receive £50,000 for 24 days of work a year.
A Scottish Tory spokesman has said Davidson’s additional role outside Parliament was “well within all parliamentary and industry rules”.
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