FIRST Minister Humza Yousaf is to lead what the SNP have called their “first nationwide Day Of Action this year”.
The SNP leader will head to the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency on Saturday in an effort to step up grassroots campaigning for the party and independence.
It comes ahead of a potential by-election in the area, with formerly SNP MP Margaret Ferrier facing a possible 30-day suspension from the House of Commons after breaching Covid laws in 2020.
If MPs vote to pass the suspension, then a recall petition will be triggered. If 10% of the constituents sign the petition – a target which Labour would have their activists on the ground aiming to reach – then a by-election would be set.
Yousaf will be knocking doors in the area over the weekend in an effort to put “a positive and progressive alternative to the Westminster parties” to voters. He is also to attend the opening of a local bowling club's season and visit local businesses.
It is understood he will be joined by members of the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee.
The SNP leader and self-styled “first activist” said: “During the leadership campaign, I vowed, as the grassroots candidate, to step up campaigning and push forward our levels of activism to the highs of 2014.
“With Scotland’s Parliament under attack from a Westminster power grab, and a Tory cost of living crisis that’s hammering families across Scotland, the SNP will be taking its progressive vision for a fairer Scotland to doorsteps across the country today.
“Scotland deserves better than a choice between Sunak and Starmer. While the Brexit-loving Labour and Tories fight for the keys to Number 10, Scots are being left behind by the broken Westminster system.
"People across Scotland deserve more than they’re getting from the Westminster establishment, which is refusing to take any real action to tackle the devastating impacts of Brexit and the cost of living crisis harming household incomes in every community.
“With the limited powers of devolution, the SNP has helped create a better Scotland in Government and we have a progressive record to be proud of that’s helped us gain the trust of voters at election after election.
"Only the SNP will ensure Scotland’s priorities are put first and offer a positive, ambitious and radical vision for their future as an independent country. That’s the message I’ll be sharing with voters in Rutherglen and Hamilton West today.”
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has pledged to throw “everything” at a by-election in the Westminster constituency, which has the potential to double the number of Scottish Labour MPs to two.
The Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat has switched from Labour to the SNP and back again over the last four General Elections, and a by-election there would be seen as a key test of both parties’ health going into the next.
