THE SNP’s outgoing national secretary has issued a statement after news broke that she would be leaving the role.
As The National reported on Tuesday, Lorna Finn does not appear on the ballot and so will be replaced as the national secretary of the party after delegates vote at the SNP conference this weekend.
Four candidates have put themselves forward to replace her: Michael Gregori, John Haston, Alex Kerr, and Adam Nols-McVey.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Finn said the experience of serving as SNP national secretary had been “brutal, bruising and painful but ultimately it was worth it”.
Finn has served in the role since November 2021, meaning she has had the key position during two SNP leadership resignations (Nicola Sturgeon’s and Humza Yousaf’s) and through the bulk of the Operation Branchform probe into the SNP’s finances, which began in July 2021.
In a statement on Wednesday, Finn said: “Just for the avoidance of doubt and to stop speculation, I was always standing down as national secretary at this conference. I have held this post for almost three years, oversaw two leadership elections, Local Government and Westminster election and a governance review of our party.
“As with all of our internal posts the roles are carried out by volunteers; and the role of national secretary in the last few years has been particularly busy. I will always be a servant of the party for the cause of independence but for me now it has to be in another capacity.
“I could lie and say being National Secretary has always been a joyful and rewarding experience; it has at times been brutal, bruising and painful but ultimately it was worth it. I only ever wanted to do the best for the party. I tried my best and gave what I could.
“There are so many talented and dedicated members putting themselves forward for internal party positions. I wish them all well and will always been [sic] on hand to help, support or just listen.”
For the vote to replace Finn, the SNP conference handbook states that “all delegates with an email address on the membership system will be sent a link containing their voting code when conference opens at 10am on Friday 30 August, allowing them to vote using their own devices”.
Voting will then run for just over 48 hours, closing at 10.15am on Sunday, September 1.
