THE SNP's NEC has backed a change to the rules which means any MP hoping to stand in next year's Holyrood elections will need to resign, The National understands.
It's supposedly about saving money by avoiding standalone by-elections, but it will be seen by supporters of Joanna Cherry as an attempt to stop her from standing in Edinburgh Central.
At a lengthy meeting of the NEC last night, senior party members were presented with a raft of options on how the party should approach dual mandates.
They backed Option D - which means MPs will need to resign their seats in enough time to allow a by-election to take place on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections.
Effectively, that means if Cherry, or any other MP is selected as a candidate they'd then then have to stand down as an MP, close their office and make their staff redundant around three to four months before the Holyrood vote.
READ MORE: Joanna Cherry out of Edinburgh Central race after SNP change rules
Yesterday, in a series of Tweets, the SNP’s former deputy leader at Westminister Kirsty Blackman - who says she doesn't intend to stand at next year's election - said restricting MPs from standing as MSPs would be unfair.
She said: “I don’t normally comment publicly on internal party stuff.
“If a sitting MP decides to stand as an MSP I do understand that there are significant funding issues because that individual is causing a by-election.
“There are also local organisational issues with running one campaign immediately after another. My big concern about asking an MP to stand down much in advance of a Holyrood election is that this will have knock on implications for their staff.
“Asking SNP MPs to do this effectively means that only MPs who are happy to see their staff jobless will be able to stand for Holyrood.
“This is because their MP staff would no longer have a job either for the interim period or if the MP doesn’t get elected as an MSP.
“I hope the NEC consider this when taking any decision about MPs standing for Holyrood selection.”
Cherry faces a battle to be selected in Edinburgh Central, with the SNP's former Westminster leader Angus Robertson, also keen to represent the marginal seat currently represented by Ruth Davidson.
The contest is seen as something of a proxy battle between factions in the SNP. Robertson is seen as closer to Nicola Sturgeon, while Cherry is seen as closer to former First Minister Alex Salmond.
The SNP has been approached for comment.
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