SOME SNP MPs have grown too comfortable in their roles and “absolutely love” being at Westminster, Mhairi Black has said.
The deputy leader of the SNP group in London was speaking to Times Radio ahead of stepping down as an MP at the next General Election.
The former youngest member of the Commons, Black announced plans to step back from elected politics in July last year.
The MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South said that life at Westminster – with the plots, politicking, and late nights – changed people so they are “not normal anymore”.
But she also told Times Radio that some of her SNP colleagues seemed to have grown too comfortable in their lives as MPs.
“I’ve seen folk who you would have thought would have been the first one marching to the Border with a claymore but now absolutely love being in London. I wouldn’t have expected that,” Black said.
“I will not specify if they are current or not, but yes, I’ve come across ones where I’ve thought, ‘hmmm, you appear slightly more comfortable than I think you should be’.”
Black’s decision to step back as an MP came five months after Nicola Sturgeon announced she would be resigning as first minister and SNP leader.
Since Sturgeon’s exit, the SNP have seen their support slip in the polls, with new leader Humza Yousaf struggling to match his predecessor’s high levels of popularity with voters.
Speaking to Times Radio, Black said she had “always” been uncomfortable with the SNP’s reliance on Sturgeon’s personality to keep ahead in the polls.
“I’m a big believer that politics should be about policy as opposed to personality,” she said.
Black suggested Sturgeon could still have a part to play for the Yes movement going forward, calling her a “massive asset”.
💼 The Exit Interviews From Baby of the House to deputy leader of the SNP in Westminster, @MhairiBlack addresses a tumultuous year for the SNP as she prepares to step down. 📻 11am https://t.co/xhUnEXLqj5 🎧 Politics Without The Boring Bits: https://t.co/NrHBZyINAw@MattChorley pic.twitter.com/jSefiou2aP
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) January 2, 2024
She also addressed the ongoing police investigation into SNP finances, which Black said looked “terrible” for the SNP, adding that she had “always had my issues with how it’s run or how decisions have been arrived at”.
The MP further insisted that independence was not a more distant prospect than it had been, and that it is too soon to write off the SNP at the next General Election.
The interview comes after Liz Lloyd, Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, told the BBC that the SNP faces its most difficult year in two decades.
She suggested Yousaf should “look at making some changes – maybe a small reshuffle – things that put the SNP back on the front foot which it very much hasn't been for the last nine months”.
