MP Margaret Ferrier has lost her appeal to have her Commons suspension overturned, meaning a by-election in her constituency now looks likely.
The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP broke covid rules in 2020 by travelling on a train from London to Scotland having tested positive.
A standards watchdog eventually recommended she be banned from the Commons for 30 days – a punishment Ferrier has failed to have overturned.
So, what happens now and how is a by-election triggered?
What is recall?
Essentially, this is the process by which constituents can remove their MP outwith the normal election period.
In order for this to happen, one of three requirements must be met:
- An MP is imprisoned following a conviction (although anything over 12 months leads to automatic removal).
- An MP is suspended from the House for more than 10 sitting days or 14 non-sitting days.
- An MP makes false or misleading allowance claims.
What is a recall petition?
If one of the above conditions is met, the Speaker must notify the local returning officer and this subsequently leads to the opening of a recall petition.
Constituents have six weeks to sign this and should 10% of registered voters do so, a by-election is called.
Could Ferrier still contest her seat?
Yes, the sitting MP is still able to contest in the by-election.
Over the past four General Elections, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat has swung between the SNP and Labour Co-Op candidates.
READ MORE: Interpol general assembly to be hosted in Glasgow
In the 2017 election, Gerard Killen was elected after defeating Ferrier by 19,101 votes to 18,836.
Ferrier then retained her seat in 2019 by a more comfortable margin of 23,775 votes to Killen’s 18,545.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel