MP vows to stay on
Angus McNeil’s growing rift with the SNP came to a head last month with his formal expulsion from the party he has served for more than 20 years.
Under UK Parliamentary rules, by-elections are triggered when a candidate resigns or dies, is declared bankrupt, is convicted of a serious criminal offence or takes a seat in the House of Lords; an MP’s change of political party does not automatically trigger a by-election.
Mr MacNeil no longer represents the party under which he was elected but has said he will continue in post as an independent representative, adding that he hoped to rejoin the SNP in time to stand on their ticket at the next election.
Mr MacNeil told Am Pàipear:
“There are many good people in the SNP and tremendous activists in all the islands. Following my suspension, I decided not to rejoin the SNP Westminster Group however I did keep my rank and file SNP membership but an SNP committee then decided to expel me. Perhaps in time to come wiser heads will prevail. What needs to happen is not expelling SNP members but focusing on independence and using elections which is the only option as referendums are blocked.
“The change in status has not changed my working life in Westminster. Despite the hype surrounding this, the reality is actually quite dull and boring and it makes no difference whatsoever. My constituents will notice no difference.”
Asked if, by leaving the SNP fold, he had reduced his influence on Scottish Government policy,Mr MacNeil said:
“I have always been quite free of party lines and spoke about things as I saw them. The sway on issues such as keeping airt raffic control jobs at Benbecula a number of years ago or against the HPMAs today is down to the force of the argument, not the status you have within a party.”
Mr MacNeil refuted claims that his departure would offer an opportunity to Labour:
“I have not left an open door for Labour in the Western Isles. Labour is more deeply unattractive as they adopt more and more Conservative policies.
“My move has made people talk more about independence; more and more people are understanding that we need independence and it is time that those in the highest levels of the SNP grasp that urgency.”
Angus MacNeil had been one of the SNP’s longest serving MPs and one of Scotland’s highest profile UK Parliamentarians. Less than a year after taking up his post in Westminster, he came to prominence calling for House of Lords reform, helping expose the Cash for Peerages scandal of Tony Blair’s Government. In 2007 and 2016, his extra-marital romantic exploits were exposed in the tabloid press and in May 2022, he faced a three month ban and a £1500 fine for dangerous driving, following a road traffic collision in Barra two years before.
With the next general election not far away, Mr MacNeil’s change of status has left this constituency in an interesting position.
The Western Isles has elected only three candidates in the last 53 years, each of them serving for a term of 17-18 years; Donald Stewart, SNP, 1970-1987, Calum, MacDonald, Labour, 1987 – 2005 and Angus MacNeil, SNP 2005-present.
As Am Pàipear went to print, the only candidate to confirm a challenge to Mr MacNeil is Lewis- based journalist Torcuil Crichton, who is standing and actively campaigning for the Labour Party. The SNP, the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have all confirmed that they will be selecting and then fielding candidates but have yet to reveal names; the Scottish Christian Party and the Scottish Green Party were not ready to confirm their position.
