Nicola Sturgeon has admitted that the bitter SNP leadership contest is proving “painful” for the party.
However, the first minister said she did not understand why concerns were being raised about the legitimacy of the ballot to replace her and challenged critics to put forward specific allegations.
Last night Kate Forbes demanded that an independent auditor be drafted in to oversee the vote. The finance secretary and Ash Regan, the former community safety minister who is also running for leader, called for Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband, to release key information in his role as the party’s chief executive.
Public arguments since Sturgeon announced her intention to resign have torn the SNP apart and there are concerns within the party that it will struggle to unite under whoever is chosen to be the next leader.
“Growing pains for any organisation can be painful but they are important and the party is going through a process,” Sturgeon told reporters after first minister’s questions.
“As I said last week, I think it is incumbent on the three candidates that are standing to succeed me that they remember that the task is to retain the trust of the Scottish people that we have won consistently over not just the eight years of my leadership but consistently since 2007.”
She said that she had complete faith in the ballot and that the process had been used and trusted for years. She said the company running the ballot was independent from the SNP and that other than a failure to publish membership figures, which are expected today, she was “not absolutely clear what the specific allegations about the process are”.
There is mounting evidence that Humza Yousaf, the election frontrunner, is the preferred candidate of the SNP establishment. It emerged yesterday that Liz Lloyd, one of Sturgeon’s key advisers, has been assisting with his campaign.
At the weekend, the Mail on Sunday disclosed that the firm running the ballot will send out 78,000 online forms to every registered SNP member. The figures would suggest that the SNP has nearly 50,000 fewer members than in 2019.
Michelle Thomson, Forbes’s campaign manager, has written to Lorna Finn, the SNP’s national secretary, asking whether senior party figures will be provided with polling data before the ballot has closed.
It is feared that details about regional turnout would be tactically useful to political operatives who might wish to influence the vote.
Thomson has demanded that the SNP appoint a “robust, experienced, third-party auditor of the ballot processes and the eventual tally of the vote”.
“Concerns have been raised in various quarters about the integrity of the ballot processes,” said Thomson, who claimed that unease about the process was being “openly expressed by individuals within the SNP of long standing”.
“The fact that questions are being asked can only further undermine trust in SNP HQ,” she added. “This is not a position I wish to see. We all agree that the party must unify around any newly elected leader.”
Mi-Voice, the company running the election and processing the votes, offers real-time updates but the SNP has said they have not requested this facility. A party spokesman said: “Nobody outside of Mi-Voice has access to the live voting system or information about the ballot.”
Sources have claimed that they were given information about previous deputy leadership elections, although there is no evidence that it came directly from Mi-Voice, which failed to respond to a request for comment.
In a separate letter to Murrell, Regan demanded the release of membership numbers including details about the volume of digital and paper votes being delivered. She said there was “a conflict of interest” in having Murrell overseeing the process.
“As the chief executive officer of the SNP, it is your responsibility to ensure that the leadership election process is transparent, fair and equitable,” she said. “Providing this information is crucial to fostering trust and confidence among the candidates, their campaign teams and the party members who are participating in the election.”
Yousaf backed the call for the membership numbers to be released.
Members of the SNP’s ruling national executive committee have been asked to consent to releasing the membership numbers by noon on Thursday so that they can be provided to the candidates in the afternoon.
Neil Gray, Yousaf’s campaign manager, said: “Yesterday, Humza’s campaign team also asked for the figures to be published and sought assurances this would be done as soon as possible.”
James Mitchell, professor of public policy at Edinburgh University, said that refusing to release the membership figures until the result was announced would be “interference through omission” because any significant drop would be a legitimate topic for debate.
Separately, there were raised eyebrows when The Sun reported that Liz Lloyd, who was Sturgeon’s chief of staff before becoming her strategic policy and political adviser, is “providing advice” to Yousaf’s campaign. Sturgeon has said she will remain neutral in the contest but is widely thought to back the health secretary.
The Scottish government said: “In line with the special adviser code of conduct, special advisers are permitted to assist with party leadership elections, in their own time, while still employed by the government.”
The SNP said that the number of votes, percentage share and turnout will all be published at the conclusion of the process.
A spokesman said: “Candidates have already been made aware that responsibility for the leadership election does not rest with any member of staff.”
John Swinney, the deputy first minister, said that the leadership race was being conducted “100 per cent” properly.
The former SNP leader, who is backing Yousaf, said the same system had been used in multiple deputy leadership elections over recent years and that “nobody, nobody, has raised an issue about the authority of those processes”.
“I don’t understand half of these comments,” Swinney told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme. “The process is being conducted by an independent ballot services company, that is an independent organisation. They have got a professional reputation to deliver ballot services effectively and without question.”
Michael Russell, the SNP president, tweeted that he has “full confidence” the external verification and vote count, adding: “I am disgusted by the abuse directed at @theSNP staff by individuals who damage our cause & aid our enemies.”
That sentiment was echoed by Yousaf, who said: “I am up for challenge & reform of the party, but let’s not indulge in baseless smears.”
Kirk Torrance, who is advising Regan, backed Forbes’s call, saying on Twitter: “Independent auditors will give reassurance to the SNP members and the general public that this ballot is conducted properly. This should have been the case from the outset.”
**Profile: Mr Sturgeon’s uncertain future**
Peter Murrell has tried to keep a low profile as the SNP’s chief executive, but his tenure has not been without controversy (John Boothman writes).
A police investigation into the whereabouts of £600,000 raised for independence campaigning in 2017 has dragged on and a £107,620 interest-free personal loan he made to the party in 2021 raised questions over his conduct.
The loan was not declared to the Electoral Commission at the time, resulting in breaches of election finance rules. The party insisted it did not think the advance was reportable and that it was made to assist with cash-flow problems.
He was at the centre of further controversy following Alex Salmond’s acquittal on sexual assault charges in January 2020. In September that year, after being anonymously passed a document, the MP Kenny MacAskill demanded an investigation into messages sent by Murrell calling for the police to be pressured over the Salmond case. Murrell confirmed he had sent the messages, but regretted the wording he had used.
He was reported later to the Lord Advocate by Murdo Fraser, a Tory MSP, who alleged he had made a “false statement” under oath while giving evidence to a parliamentary committee. Murrell “absolutely refuted” the claim.
In her resignation speech last month, Sturgeon paid tribute to her husband and described him as “her rock”. However, concerns over their stranglehold over the SNP have been longstanding.
On her accession to the leadership in 2014, she was forced to deny that the wife-and-husband team, below, would wield an unhealthy amount of power. It emerged that Salmond had advised her it was unhealthy for her husband to be chief executive.
A former adviser claimed her refusal to heed the advice signalled the beginning of their political relationship unravelling. Last week Salmond accused Murrell of orchestrating the campaign to “usher in” Humza Yousaf as leader, and Ash Regan, a fellow candidate, warned there was a “conflict of interest” over his involvement in the contest.
Yousaf said he would speak to Murrell about his future if he wins, regarding him as an “election winner over many years”.
>Peter Murrell has tried to keep a low profile as the SNP’s chief executive, but his tenure has not been without controversy (John Boothman writes).
>A police investigation into the whereabouts of £600,000 raised for independence campaigning in 2017 has dragged on and a £107,620 interest-free personal loan he made to the party in 2021 raised questions over his conduct.
>The loan was not declared to the Electoral Commission at the time, resulting in breaches of election finance rules. The party insisted it did not think the advance was reportable and that it was made to assist with cash-flow problems.
The real pain will be when she and her hubby are in the dock for fraud over that missing £600,000.
A complete and utter failure both as a Party Leader and as First Minister. Turns out just another empty vessel!
Or put another way, she painted herself into a corner. And that’s before the police came knocking.
Did we ever get any clarity on why she decided to step down so suddenly?
This has been talked about for years but it’s interesting timing that it’s resurfacing now. The people of Scotland deserve so much better than this shower
It looks like Scotland isn’t capable of party politics – just personality cults.
Has it been confirmed why she abandoned ship with no exit strategy or successor in place yet?
Plenty of us have long pointed out how corrupt and deceitful wee Jimmie and her clique were. She’ll be in prison in the coming years for her and her husband’s financial mis-steps. But she’ll blame the Tories as always. Truly a waster of a politician and a chancer to boot. Good riddance to her.
They’re just getting their own independence briefly Nicola you should be proud of them.
10 comments
[Link without paywall](https://archive.is/nWTok)
Nicola Sturgeon has admitted that the bitter SNP leadership contest is proving “painful” for the party.
However, the first minister said she did not understand why concerns were being raised about the legitimacy of the ballot to replace her and challenged critics to put forward specific allegations.
Last night Kate Forbes demanded that an independent auditor be drafted in to oversee the vote. The finance secretary and Ash Regan, the former community safety minister who is also running for leader, called for Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband, to release key information in his role as the party’s chief executive.
Public arguments since Sturgeon announced her intention to resign have torn the SNP apart and there are concerns within the party that it will struggle to unite under whoever is chosen to be the next leader.
“Growing pains for any organisation can be painful but they are important and the party is going through a process,” Sturgeon told reporters after first minister’s questions.
“As I said last week, I think it is incumbent on the three candidates that are standing to succeed me that they remember that the task is to retain the trust of the Scottish people that we have won consistently over not just the eight years of my leadership but consistently since 2007.”
She said that she had complete faith in the ballot and that the process had been used and trusted for years. She said the company running the ballot was independent from the SNP and that other than a failure to publish membership figures, which are expected today, she was “not absolutely clear what the specific allegations about the process are”.
There is mounting evidence that Humza Yousaf, the election frontrunner, is the preferred candidate of the SNP establishment. It emerged yesterday that Liz Lloyd, one of Sturgeon’s key advisers, has been assisting with his campaign.
At the weekend, the Mail on Sunday disclosed that the firm running the ballot will send out 78,000 online forms to every registered SNP member. The figures would suggest that the SNP has nearly 50,000 fewer members than in 2019.
Michelle Thomson, Forbes’s campaign manager, has written to Lorna Finn, the SNP’s national secretary, asking whether senior party figures will be provided with polling data before the ballot has closed.
It is feared that details about regional turnout would be tactically useful to political operatives who might wish to influence the vote.
Thomson has demanded that the SNP appoint a “robust, experienced, third-party auditor of the ballot processes and the eventual tally of the vote”.
“Concerns have been raised in various quarters about the integrity of the ballot processes,” said Thomson, who claimed that unease about the process was being “openly expressed by individuals within the SNP of long standing”.
“The fact that questions are being asked can only further undermine trust in SNP HQ,” she added. “This is not a position I wish to see. We all agree that the party must unify around any newly elected leader.”
Mi-Voice, the company running the election and processing the votes, offers real-time updates but the SNP has said they have not requested this facility. A party spokesman said: “Nobody outside of Mi-Voice has access to the live voting system or information about the ballot.”
Sources have claimed that they were given information about previous deputy leadership elections, although there is no evidence that it came directly from Mi-Voice, which failed to respond to a request for comment.
In a separate letter to Murrell, Regan demanded the release of membership numbers including details about the volume of digital and paper votes being delivered. She said there was “a conflict of interest” in having Murrell overseeing the process.
“As the chief executive officer of the SNP, it is your responsibility to ensure that the leadership election process is transparent, fair and equitable,” she said. “Providing this information is crucial to fostering trust and confidence among the candidates, their campaign teams and the party members who are participating in the election.”
Yousaf backed the call for the membership numbers to be released.
Members of the SNP’s ruling national executive committee have been asked to consent to releasing the membership numbers by noon on Thursday so that they can be provided to the candidates in the afternoon.
Neil Gray, Yousaf’s campaign manager, said: “Yesterday, Humza’s campaign team also asked for the figures to be published and sought assurances this would be done as soon as possible.”
James Mitchell, professor of public policy at Edinburgh University, said that refusing to release the membership figures until the result was announced would be “interference through omission” because any significant drop would be a legitimate topic for debate.
Separately, there were raised eyebrows when The Sun reported that Liz Lloyd, who was Sturgeon’s chief of staff before becoming her strategic policy and political adviser, is “providing advice” to Yousaf’s campaign. Sturgeon has said she will remain neutral in the contest but is widely thought to back the health secretary.
The Scottish government said: “In line with the special adviser code of conduct, special advisers are permitted to assist with party leadership elections, in their own time, while still employed by the government.”
The SNP said that the number of votes, percentage share and turnout will all be published at the conclusion of the process.
A spokesman said: “Candidates have already been made aware that responsibility for the leadership election does not rest with any member of staff.”
John Swinney, the deputy first minister, said that the leadership race was being conducted “100 per cent” properly.
The former SNP leader, who is backing Yousaf, said the same system had been used in multiple deputy leadership elections over recent years and that “nobody, nobody, has raised an issue about the authority of those processes”.
“I don’t understand half of these comments,” Swinney told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme. “The process is being conducted by an independent ballot services company, that is an independent organisation. They have got a professional reputation to deliver ballot services effectively and without question.”
Michael Russell, the SNP president, tweeted that he has “full confidence” the external verification and vote count, adding: “I am disgusted by the abuse directed at @theSNP staff by individuals who damage our cause & aid our enemies.”
That sentiment was echoed by Yousaf, who said: “I am up for challenge & reform of the party, but let’s not indulge in baseless smears.”
Kirk Torrance, who is advising Regan, backed Forbes’s call, saying on Twitter: “Independent auditors will give reassurance to the SNP members and the general public that this ballot is conducted properly. This should have been the case from the outset.”
**Profile: Mr Sturgeon’s uncertain future**
Peter Murrell has tried to keep a low profile as the SNP’s chief executive, but his tenure has not been without controversy (John Boothman writes).
A police investigation into the whereabouts of £600,000 raised for independence campaigning in 2017 has dragged on and a £107,620 interest-free personal loan he made to the party in 2021 raised questions over his conduct.
The loan was not declared to the Electoral Commission at the time, resulting in breaches of election finance rules. The party insisted it did not think the advance was reportable and that it was made to assist with cash-flow problems.
He was at the centre of further controversy following Alex Salmond’s acquittal on sexual assault charges in January 2020. In September that year, after being anonymously passed a document, the MP Kenny MacAskill demanded an investigation into messages sent by Murrell calling for the police to be pressured over the Salmond case. Murrell confirmed he had sent the messages, but regretted the wording he had used.
He was reported later to the Lord Advocate by Murdo Fraser, a Tory MSP, who alleged he had made a “false statement” under oath while giving evidence to a parliamentary committee. Murrell “absolutely refuted” the claim.
In her resignation speech last month, Sturgeon paid tribute to her husband and described him as “her rock”. However, concerns over their stranglehold over the SNP have been longstanding.
On her accession to the leadership in 2014, she was forced to deny that the wife-and-husband team, below, would wield an unhealthy amount of power. It emerged that Salmond had advised her it was unhealthy for her husband to be chief executive.
A former adviser claimed her refusal to heed the advice signalled the beginning of their political relationship unravelling. Last week Salmond accused Murrell of orchestrating the campaign to “usher in” Humza Yousaf as leader, and Ash Regan, a fellow candidate, warned there was a “conflict of interest” over his involvement in the contest.
Yousaf said he would speak to Murrell about his future if he wins, regarding him as an “election winner over many years”.
>Peter Murrell has tried to keep a low profile as the SNP’s chief executive, but his tenure has not been without controversy (John Boothman writes).
>A police investigation into the whereabouts of £600,000 raised for independence campaigning in 2017 has dragged on and a £107,620 interest-free personal loan he made to the party in 2021 raised questions over his conduct.
>The loan was not declared to the Electoral Commission at the time, resulting in breaches of election finance rules. The party insisted it did not think the advance was reportable and that it was made to assist with cash-flow problems.
The real pain will be when she and her hubby are in the dock for fraud over that missing £600,000.
A complete and utter failure both as a Party Leader and as First Minister. Turns out just another empty vessel!
Or put another way, she painted herself into a corner. And that’s before the police came knocking.
Did we ever get any clarity on why she decided to step down so suddenly?
This has been talked about for years but it’s interesting timing that it’s resurfacing now. The people of Scotland deserve so much better than this shower
It looks like Scotland isn’t capable of party politics – just personality cults.
Has it been confirmed why she abandoned ship with no exit strategy or successor in place yet?
Plenty of us have long pointed out how corrupt and deceitful wee Jimmie and her clique were. She’ll be in prison in the coming years for her and her husband’s financial mis-steps. But she’ll blame the Tories as always. Truly a waster of a politician and a chancer to boot. Good riddance to her.
They’re just getting their own independence briefly Nicola you should be proud of them.