MP Joanna Cherry said will stand down at Westminster if elected to a key Holyrood seat after confirming she is challenging another prominent SNP figure for the nomination.

The Edinburgh South West MP yesterday announced she will seek the candidacy for Edinburgh Central when nominations open in April.

It means two SNP heavyweights go head-to-head over the constituency, with the party’s former Westminster leader Angus Robertson confirming last Tuesday he will also bid to be nominated.

The seat, currently held by former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, is seen as the most winnable in the capital for the SNP in 2021.

Cherry, who led the successful Supreme Court legal action against Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Westminster, said she has consulted with her fellow branch members in Edinburgh Central and members of Edinburgh South West and has received “strong encouragement”.

READ MORE: Cherry and Robertson go head-to-head in SNP battle for Edinburgh Central

She said will not serve a full term at Westminster and seek to stand down as an MP if she wins the nomination and election, saying the movement for Scotland to be independent can “only be realised from Holyrood”.

She said: “Scotland must have the right to escape Boris Johnson’s Brexit; we must have the right to choose our own future and we need a strategy to get us to that point of decision.

“With a large Tory majority across England the UK is set firmly on a hard Tory agenda for the next decade.

“Scotland will be completely ignored at Westminster, the movement for Scotland to be an independent European nation can only be realised from Holyrood and I want to offer my services where I think they can be of most use.”

The National: Angus Robertson will battle Cherry for the SNP nominationAngus Robertson will battle Cherry for the SNP nomination (Image: Colin Mearns)

She added: “I look forward to a forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence, SNP MPs at Westminster have never been there to settle down; I am for settling up.

“I choose Scotland and hope to be able to play my part as we create a modern independent state.”

Cherry said she had been a member of Edinburgh Central branch since 2008 and her Westminster constituency covers a significant part of the seat.

She added: “I am very grateful to all the people who have approached me and encouraged me to put my hat in the ring when nominations open.”

READ MORE: WATCH: Joanna Cherry opens up about online abuse in House of Commons

Before her announcement, Robertson had said the key measure for local SNP members would be whether potential candidates for the seat could offer a full-time commitment.

Writing in The National yesterday, he criticised Davidson for her “part-time” commitment to the seat, with speculation she is heading to the House of Lords.

He said: “She believes she can be in Westminster and Holyrood at the same time. That is not possible.”