SNP chief executive Murray Foote quits after heavy general election defeat

Foote’s unexpected departure follows two of the worst electoral performances in the SNP’s recent history and a collapse in membership. Photograph: SST/Alamy

The chief executive of the Scottish National party, Murray Foote, has unexpectedly quit “in the best interests of the party” after it suffered its worst election defeat in nearly two decades.

Foote, a former editor of the Labour-leaning Daily Record newspaper, said he did not believe he was the right person to oversee a reorganisation of the SNP and to run the party during the “critical” 2026 Holyrood election campaign.