PARLIAMENTARY microphones picked up a Conservative MP sneering at Ian Blackford as he completed his response to the Queen’s Speech.
The SNP Westminster leader was giving his reaction to the Tory government’s new legislative agenda, unveiled by Prince Charles on Tuesday afternoon.
As he wound up the address, a Tory MP can be heard on microphone saying “thank God for that” – it is currently unclear who it was.
During his speech, Blackford took the opportunity to remind the Tories of their dismal results at the local elections last week.
The Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP said the Conservatives had suffered a “democratic drubbing” in the polls, and pointed out it was the SNP’s 11th election victory in a row as he called for a second independence referendum.
Blackford said: “Democracy has spoken in Scotland, it has spoken before and it will speak again and again. And all our democratic decisions are saying exactly the same thing, Scotland rejects this Westminster Government, we reject the Tory party and we demand the choice of an independent future.
“The Scottish people know the cost of living with Westminster. We know the price we pay with the Prime Minister and the price of being stuck with a Tory Government we didn’t vote for and it is price none of us in Scotland, not one of us, can afford to pay any longer.”
Intervening, Conservative MP Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) said the SNP had not increased its vote share in eight years, adding that “the game is up” for the party.
But Blackford replied: “If the game is up for anybody, or any party, then the game is up for the Tory party and the game is up for the Union and I say to him that he needs to reflect on the fact that the SNP has won the last 11 elections as I said.”
During his address, Blackford primarily took aim at the Tories' failure to introduce any new measures to tackle the severe cost-of-living crisis, telling the Commons: "The Chancellor has already told us that his strategy to tackle the cost-of-living crisis is literally to sit on his hands – because he thinks it would be ‘silly’ to act now.
"Well Chancellor, the public told you what they make of that strategy last week.
"And yet – just like in the Spring Statement – he has completely failed to listen.
"So this Queen Speech represents one more missed opportunity."
