Shock as Margaret Ferrier suspension vote pushed back to June

There has been speculation on social media and from other MPs that some Tories were preparing to vote against the ban, fearing it would set a precedent if Boris Johnson were fined for misleading Parliament.

CONTINUE READING: Margaret Ferrier: SNP MP calls for ex-colleague to resign

However, it later turned out that there were not enough deputies in the chamber.

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.

Labour’s Shadow Secretary Ian Murray claimed it was “a dirty backroom deal between Ferrier, Nationalists and some Tories who don’t want Boris Johnson to suffer the same fate.”

“This is an unholy alliance and utter incompetence designed to delay democracy and give the Tories and SNP a stay of execution at the ballot box while Ferrier takes a salary from the taxpayer,” he added.

Parliament’s Standards Committee recommended the unprecedented sanction for the former SNP politician’s breaches of Covid rules at the height of the lockdown.

If MPs support the long sentence when Parliament returns next month, the Speaker will notify the Petitions Officer in South Lanarkshire, who will then table a recall petition ten working days later, with signing stations opening across the constituency.

If 10 percent of her constituents put their names on the petition within six weeks, Ferrier will lose her job and trigger a by-election.

It is not clear if any of her former SNP colleagues voted in Parliament to effectively end the politician’s career.

When Hunza Yousaf was previously asked by The Herald if he expected his MPs to vote in favor of the suspension, he replied unequivocally “yes”.

Previously, the party’s sole MP on the Commons Standards Committee backed attempts to ease the sentence.

Allan Dorans voted to suspend Ferrier for nine sitting days. Had that happened, it would have killed any chance of a recall request.

According to the procedure initiated in the course of the expenses scandal, it can only be initiated by a suspension of at least ten days of the meeting.

Joanna Cherry also criticized colleagues, calling the way Ferrier had been treated by some in the SNP “shameful”.

“She is a thoroughly decent woman who made a terrible mistake that she has already paid dearly for,” she tweeted.

The way Margaret Ferrier was treated by some of her former comrades is shameful. She is a perfectly decent woman who has made a terrible mistake that she has already paid dearly for. Previously, she was one of the most loyal and hardworking activists in the world @theSNP

— Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) March 31, 2023

CONTINUE READING: Dishonest, selfish and ruthless: The panel’s brutal verdict against Ferrier fails on appeal

The SNP has confirmed that it will formally advocate for Ferrier to lose her seat.

Under the Recall Act 2015, parties, organizations and individuals can register with the Petitions Officer and spend up to £10,000 on the petition.

Ferrier was found guilty of culpable and reckless conduct in Glasgow Sheriffs Court last August after admitting to traveling on a train in September 2020 despite knowing she had 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”.

In his inquiry Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, said Ferrier had breached paragraph 11 of the MP’s code of conduct “by putting his personal interest in not wanting to self-isolate immediately or in London over the public interest in not wanting to.” avoid.” Risk of harm to health and life of people she came into contact with after receiving a positive Covid-19 test result.”

He said she also breached Article 17 of the Code “as her actions, from her initial Covid-19 test to her final commencement of self-isolation, have caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as an MP.” as a whole and its members in general”.

CONTINUE READING: Sarwar claims the SNP is scared of the election and is calling for Ferrier’s resignation as MP

The Scottish Labor Party is confident of winning the seat. The party’s deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, said if they failed, they would have to do a double check.

They selected local Modern Studies teacher Michael Shanks as their nominee.

The SNP will soon have local members vote on their candidate.