THE SNP’s National Executive Committee will decide today if MPs can stand for next year’s Holyrood election without first quitting Westminster.
The party’s ruling body will consider the proposal to rule out dual mandates which, if passed, would be bad news for Edinburgh South West MP Joanna Cherry.
The SNP’s justice and home affairs spokesperson at Westminster has already indicated that she would like to stand for Ruth Davidson’s Edinburgh Central seat at next year’s Holyrood election.
It’s understood one other MP is also intending to seek selections for Holyrood next year. One source said they had no idea if it would pass.
“I’m personally in favour of preventing dual mandates because we’ve always criticised other parties for doing them and it just looks like taking the electorate for granted, but there are substantive arguments on both sides,” they said.
READ MORE: Joanna Cherry: SNP need to accept Brexit ship has sailed in fight for indyref2
The contest for the marginal Edinburgh Central constituency is fierce, with Cherry facing off against the party’s former depute leader Angus Robertson.
He launched his campaign earlier this week with a promise to “support First Minister Nicola Sturgeon”.
That remark was widely seen as a dig at Cherry who is seen as closer to Alex Salmond than the First Minister.
In the video Robertson said he believed he could hold the seat “with the support of SNP members and voters of all parties who don’t want to see the area represented by a pro-Brexit MSP.”
But writing in today’s edition of The National, Cherry says it’s too late to stop Brexit.
She writes: ”The SNP will not win future elections merely by fielding candidates who are anti-Brexit. Brexit is a done deal, and the question now is what are we going to do about it?
“What are we going to do about the democratic deficit that has seen Scotland taken out of the EU against our will and will now see the powers of our parliament and possibly our courts attacked and curtailed? Politicians with the answer to those questions are what is required.”
READ MORE: Joanna Cherry tells SNP to forget 'stop Brexit' and campaign for independence
Cherry adds that it is incumbent on the SNP to provide answers “to the questions that in the full glare of an independence campaign will come into focus, particularly given the changed circumstances since 2014”.
She continues: “The SNP needs fresh arguments for a new independence campaign. There is no point in unthinkingly repeating past mantras or fighting past battles. We need to address the changed situation in which we find ourselves post-Brexit.
“Internal debate and discussion should be encouraged. When the next independence campaign starts in earnest the honed arguments which such internal debate will produce will be vital to ensuring victory.”
Edinburgh councillor Alison Dickie, who fought the seat last time, has also been tipped as a potential candidate in the race.
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