SNP WESTMINSTER leader Ian Blackford and his MPs wore white roses on their lapels during today’s Queen’s Speech ceremony at Westminster.
The move sparked curiosity among eagle-eyed parliamentary viewers who asked why the group had donned the flowers.
READ MORE: Queen's Speech: 5 bizarre things you had no idea happen during the State Opening of Parliament
Following the proceedings, Blackford, the SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, explained the symbolic decision on Twitter.
The Queen’s Speech ceremony, where the Queen sets out the UK Government’s agenda over the next parliamentary term, comes just days after the local council elections where the SNP secured a record victory.
Ready to go to the chamber for the Queens Speech, SNP members will be wearing white roses. “The rose of all the world is not for me. I want for my part only the little white rose of Scotland, that smells sharp and sweet-and breaks the heart” Words by Hugh MacDiarmid. pic.twitter.com/49oT2TEUsM
— Ian Blackford 🇺🇦🏴 (@Ianblackford_MP) May 10, 2022
In Westminster, Blackford and the parliamentary group opted for the symbolic flower move in the wake of the election. It is not the first time the party have done this at Westminster – the group previously donned roses in 2015, when 56 SNP MPs attended the state opening of parliament.
The flowers link to Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid, who wrote the poem The Little White Rose.
The rose of all the world is not for me.
I want for my part
Only the little white rose of Scotland
That smells sharp and sweet—and breaks the heart.
MacDiarmid supported an independent Scotland and was a founding member of the National party of Scotland, a forerunner to the SNP.
He stood as a candidate for the SNP in 1945 and 1950, and also for the Communist Party. At one time he was the vice-chair of the SNP.
The poet and journalist, who died in 1978, had a major impact on Scottish culture and politics but remains a controversial figure. According to Professor Alan Riach, MacDiarmid is often misrepresented.
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