A VETERAN SNP activist is looking to enter the SNP leadership contest and could derail John Swinney’s coronation as First Minister.
Graeme McCormick was at the All Under One Banner march in Glasgow on Saturday seeking to gather the required nominations to stand for leader.
In order to enter the contest, he is required to have the support of 100 members from 20 different branches by the deadline of noon on Monday.
READ MORE: Why I'm running to take over as SNP president at conference
According to a comment posted by McCormick on the Yours for Scotland blog, by Thursday night he had already gathered 40 nominations and “just about” cleared the 20 branch requirement.
If more than one candidate secures enough nominations then a leadership contest will take place between May 13 – 27.
But who is Graeme McCormick?
McCormick has been campaigning for independence in some way or another since the 1970s, though he didn’t join the SNP until around 1991.
A retired solicitor who has served as Convener of SNP's Dumbarton branch, McCormick is also currently on the board of pro-independence think tank Business for Scotland.
The SNP member drew headlines last October when he also challenged for the role of SNP president at the party’s annual conference.
While his campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, McCormick has again thrown his hat in the ring and said in a letter to The National that he is challenging John Swinney (below) for the SNP leadership because “I know of no potential candidate who is prepared to call an early Holyrood Election”.
McCormick previously highlighted in an exclusive interview with The National that he felt the route to independence lay in international treaties – a motion for which was rejected at last year’s conference.
This is a route he still appears to believe is the way forward.
Central to the campaign is that a majority vote will result in SNP MPs being instructed to dissolve the union, establish the sovereign government of Scotland, advise the UN that the union is ended and that Scotland will adhere to the terms of the Vienna Convention on the dissolution of a former state,” he said.
“Under international law, this is the "how" of delivering our nation statehood.”
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