Blackford to stand down as SNP leader

Ian Blackford is to stand down as leader of the SNP group at Westminster, it has been confirmed.

Mr Blackford said he believed it was time for “fresh leadership” after five years in the role.

He said he would formally stand down at the group’s annual general meeting next week.

There has been speculation in recent weeks that some SNP MPs were plotting to replace Mr Blackford as group leader.

Mr Blackford said he would continue in his role as the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber and had also accepted a new role at the centre of the SNP’s independence campaign.

And he insisted he had not been pressured into resigning, telling BBC Scotland: “No, not at all. I’ve taken the decision”.

He added: “The first minister has asked me to take on a role as her business ambassador. I’m absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to take on the engagement with the business community.

“In order to do that, it’s right that I stand down as the SNP Westminster leader.

“I’ve done it for five and a half years so it’s time for others to come forward and take the Westminster group through on the next part of its journey and helping the party towards independence.”

Mr Blackford has become as well-known figure in the House of Commons through his weekly appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions and is seen as being a close ally of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader.

He faced calls to resign from political opponents after the Daily Mail reported in June that it had obtained a recording of Mr Blackford urging fellow MPs to give “absolute full support” to SNP MP Patrick Grady, who was suspended for sexual misconduct.

Mr Grady, a former SNP chief whip, was suspended from Parliament for two days over a sexual advance towards a colleague in 2016, and also suspended from the SNP’s Westminster group for a week.

Ms Sturgeon subsequently said that the support expressed for Mr Grady had been “unacceptable”.

There have been reports that some SNP MPs were also unhappy at Mr Blackford’s handling of the case, with Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn recently dismissing suggestions that he was “on manoeuvres” with a view to replacing him as group leader.

After announcing he was stepping down, Mr Blackford told BBC Scotland: “I’ll always speak up to make sure that we speak out against any kind of intimidation, any kind of bad behaviour, sexual exploitation. And in my new role I’ll continue to do that when it’s right to do so.”

At the time, Mr Blackford made clear that he intended to stand for re-election to the post at the upcoming AGM.

He also denied rumours in March that he was considering resigning amid further reports of party infighting.

SNP sources have told BBC Scotland that they expect Mr Flynn to stand for the leadership, and that he has ”broad support” among their MPs and may be the only candidate to succeed Mr Blackford.

The Westminster group’s AGM will be held next Tuesday, with the leader being selected by the 44 MPs who currently hold the SNP whip.

It means the new leader will be in place to face Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions the next day,

Mr Blackford defeated former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy to become the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber in 2015, with his campaign being mired in controversy over online abuse aimed at Mr Kennedy and his long-running battle with alcoholism.

Brian Smith, who was convenor of the SNP’s Skye and Lochalsh branch, later resigned after it was reported that he had called Mr Kennedy a “drunken slob” and “quisling-in-chief” in a series of more than 130 tweets.

Mr Kennedy died of a major haemorrhage linked to his alcoholism just three weeks after the election.

It is only a fortnight since Ian Blackford made clear he would stand again for the leadership of the SNP group at Westminster at their annual meeting next week.

At that point, his MP colleague Stephen Flynn insisted he did not intend to put his name forward, despite reports suggesting he was preparing to challenge for the job.

Mr Flynn is now expected to stand and may be the only candidate. So what’s changed?

It seems a majority of SNP MPs made clear they favoured a leadership change and that Mr Blackford decided to stand down, avoiding a potential challenge he might not win or being stuck leading a disgruntled group.

There have been rumblings about his position for a while, not least since the controversy over his handling of a harassment complaint against the MP Patrick Grady.

Others say his leadership has not been inclusive enough with high profile MP Joanna Cherry – who has criticised the leadership over women’s rights and its independence strategy – sacked from the party’s front bench team.

Ms Sturgeon said Mr Blackford had led the party’s Westminster group at a time of “huge electoral success”.

She added: “I would like to place on record my thanks for Ian’s diligence, tenacity, friendship and loyalty in his time as group leader.

“I look forward to working with Ian’s successor as group leader at Westminster, as we continue to make the case for the people of Scotland to have a democratic choice on the country’s future.”

SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who has been an outspoken critic of Ms Sturgeon’s leadership, tweeted that she was “pleased to hear” that Mr Blackford was standing down as it was “time for fresh leadership and tolerance of debate and diverse viewpoints.”

She added: “I hope the SNP Westminster group will be now be left to choose our new leader without outside interference and in accordance with our standing orders.”

Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said Mr Blackford’s decision to stand down showed that the SNP was in “total disarray”.

He added: “Nationalist MPs know Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a de facto referendum is finished before it is even started and are worried about Labour gaining seats.”

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said Mr Blackford should have been “sacked immediately” by Ms Sturgeon over his support for Mr Grady, and accused the first minister of showing a “total lack of judgement”.

He added: “It is clear that, unlike Nicola Sturgeon, SNP MPs were not prepared to forgive how Ian Blackford put the needs of the perpetrator above the victim who had bravely come forward in this case.

“The SNP Westminster group are clearly in a state of disarray and Nicola Sturgeon is rapidly losing her grip over her party.”

Reports /TrainViral/