Labor claims the SNP is trying to delay the Rutherglen by-election

The accusation came as Sir Keir Starmer campaigned with Anas Sarwar and candidate Michael Shanks in the South Lanarkshire constituency on Friday morning.

However, Margaret Ferrier’s position as incumbent MP is safe for at least 10 more days after the UK government unexpectedly withdrew a vote on her suspension from the House of Commons.

According to reports, it could not be carried out because there were not enough MPs in Parliament.

Erskine May’s Guide to Parliamentary Procedures states that the House of Representatives can only have a quorum when 35 MPs can vote in a department.

There has been speculation from Labor that some Tory MPs were preparing to vote against the ban, fearing it would set a precedent if Boris Johnson was ultimately fined for misleading Parliament.

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Speaking to journalists, Sir Keir said: “It’s going to happen. I am sure that Parliament will vote to maintain the sanction and I have no doubt that there will be a petition to remove it and I have no doubt that there will be a petition.” -election.”

“This constituency has been let down for too long,” he added.

“We must move forward with this by-election and nobody should hesitate and hesitate, whether it’s the Tories or the SNP, they have no right to deprive this constituency of the effective representation it deserves.”

Unless Ms Ferrier resigns, voters in Rutherglen and Hamilton West are months away from a by-election.

Westminster is currently on hiatus with MPs not returning until June 5.

Supporting Ms Ferrier’s long sentence when they are back in the House of Commons will spark Scotland’s first-ever recall petition.

The process involves the speaker writing to the Petitions Officer in South Lanarkshire, who then takes ten working days to prepare the petition.

If, over the course of six weeks, 10 percent of her constituents visit the special signing stations and add their names to the petition, Ms Ferrier will lose her job.

It is then up to the SNP to make the motion in the House of Commons to trigger a by-election.

Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar said he believed the party could “deliberately” delay the vote.

“We are directly asking the SNP that if this motion comes — and it needs to come as soon as possible — and if the removal is successful, the SNP will vote for this motion, as we expect the removal to go ahead.” Anger and frustration that they are not hesitating and hesitating about when to call this by-election because ultimately they are the ones who have to make the decision.”

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During the visit, Sir Keir denied that he took victory for granted.

“I’m humble,” he told LBC. “I know we have to respect every single voter, we have to earn every single vote. And that’s what we’re going to do, making positive arguments with an excellent candidate.”

First Minister Humza Yousaf disagreed. He accused Labor of “arrogance” and “hubris”.

“We’re never complacent, never complacent,” he told LBC during a visit to Glasgow University.

“Whether we have won seven elections in a row or eight elections in a row, however many elections we win, we should never take the people of Scotland for granted. And we don’t. That’s why we work to earn and win back their trust.

“So I’ve been to Rutherglen, I’ll be going out there again and I’ll be there regularly because we should go into this by-election hopeful, we should go into this by-election confident but absolutely not complacent.

“The Labor Party has already decided it has won the by-election before a by-election is even called. And that is complacency.”

CONTINUE READING: Starmer goes to Rutherglen, but the by-election is delayed

Ms Ferrier was found guilty of culpable and reckless behavior in Glasgow Sheriff Court last August after admitting to traveling on a train in September 2020 despite knowing she had contracted Covid.

The MP also spoke in the House of Commons and visited a number of places in Glasgow including a mass at Mungo’s Church and a bar in Prestwick, Ayrshire while awaiting the results of a Covid test.

After the positive result was obtained, she lied to her colleagues and said she had to go home to visit a sick relative.

She was sentenced to 270 hours of community service after pleading guilty to willfully putting people “at risk of infection, disease and death”.