Achi news desk-
However, over the weekend, Graeme McCormick, a member of the SNP little known to the public, announced that he wanted to take part in the contest and challenge Mr Swinney.
Mr McCormick pulled out of the race late on Sunday night after discussions with Mr Swinney.
He said he had secured enough nominations to trigger a contest but would now “rather support John Swinney’s nomination for Party Leader and First Minister of Scotland.”
Like all potential candidates, the convener of the SNP’s Dumbarton branch would need to have received 100 nominations from 20 branches of the party in order to be able to run in the contest.
It is now expected that Mr Swinney will be announced as the new leader of the party shortly after midday on Monday and he is expected to be elected as First Minister by Holyrood on Tuesday. He is likely to be officially sworn in as Scotland’s seventh First Minister at the Court of Session on Wednesday, when he will also reshuffle the Cabinet.
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On Sunday, Mr McCormick faced backlash from senior party officials for challenging Mr Swinney and possibly pulling out the process of replacing him with a new leader.
Some of the party’s politicians – including net zero secretary Mairi McAllan – have warned that another ‘bruising’ contest like last year’s race could focus public attention on the party’s internal divisions and damage the party in the coming weeks before an election. general, which is expected later. year.
Pollster Mark Diffley noted such concerns on X, formerly Twitter, if Mr McCormick had offered himself.
“To put it mildly, if this happens it is not the situation that either John Swinney or the SNP will want. A three week series of debates and humblings that postpone the inevitable, does not reveal divisions and costing money is what the party needs at the moment,” said Mr Diffley.
In television interviews on Sunday morning, Mr Swinney warned potential rivals about entering the race saying it would “delay the ability of the [party] to start rebuilding it.”
He told the Sky News Sunday Morning program with Trevor Phillips that he felt an internal fight would hamper the SNP’s ability to recover from its troubled period quickly.
The North Perthshire MSP said: “I think the SNP has had an opportunity to start rebuilding from the difficult times we’ve had, under my leadership, and frankly, I’d like to get on with that before as soon as possible. can do it, because every day we spend in an internal contest, which I think we all probably know the outcome of, we are delaying the possibility of the SNP starting to rebuild.”
Responding to Mr Swinney’s interventions, Gillian Martin, SNP MSP for Aberdeenshire East, and minister for energy, just transition and fair work, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “The question that anyone who is concerned should about our cause to ask themselves is, are my actions to promote that cause?
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Gavin Newlands SNP for Paisley and North Renfrewshire also hit out at Mr McCormick’s bid.
He wrote on X: “I like the fact that the SNP are so democratic, but this attempt is a self-indulgent waste of time that is being pandered to by folk from other parties and seized upon by the media with glee big while many of us are out campaigning hard for the SNP’s victory in GE2024 for independence.”
Rhiannon Spear, a former SNP councilor in Glasgow, described Mr McCormick’s intention to enter the race as “self-serving”.
He wrote on X: “Graeme McCormick is well aware he won’t win, yet he wants the SNP to put money into his personal vanity project rather than winning the GE or independence. I like that he can any member standing for a leader but this is completely self-serving and wrong.”
Meanwhile, some pro-Union figures seemed to like Mr McCormick’s bid to stand.
Sam Taylor, chief executive of the pro-UK group These Islands, posted a video of Mr McCormick’s speech from last year’s SNP conference and called Mr Swinney’s comments suggesting competition for the benefit of the party was not ‘disrespectful’.
He wrote on X: “Leadership candidate Graeme McCormick gets a rousing reception at last year’s SNP special conference in Dundee. (He offers a unilateral declaration of independence.)”
Mr Taylor also noted: “John Swinney is killing Graeme McCormick’s chances before the fight has even started. Very disrespectful.”
Mr Swinney’s expected succession to SNP leadership comes after a week of drama at Holyrood, sparked by Mr Yousaf announcing last Thursday that he had ended the SNP’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens.
That decision ultimately ended his 13-month tenure as Prime Minister.
He announced his resignation last Monday, saying he would stay on until a successor was found.
If Mr Swinney becomes SNP leader today he is likely to be formally elected as Scotland’s seventh First Minister tomorrow.
He would then be formally sworn into the role in the Court of Session, probably on Wednesday, when he is also expected to reorganize his Cabinet.
Last year Mr McCormick challenged Michael Russell, the party president at the time, for his role.
But he lost the race with delegates to the party’s annual conference voting 79 to 599 for Mr Russell to continue. Mr Russell left his role last December after taking up the post of chairman of the Scottish Land Commission, a non-political role. It is understood that he is no longer a member of the party.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Mr McCormick said: “I am referring to my nomination to be Leader of the SNP and I would like to thank everyone from all over the country who support me. We reached the thresholds set by the Party rules.
“I would also like to record my thanks to John Swinney MSP with whom I had a long and fruitful conversation.
“John and I agreed on the challenges facing the SNP, our Government and our people, and he explored new ideas on a range of issues which I am confident will, as they develop, inspire activists within the SNP and the wider Independence Movement in the following weeks and months.
“This is a new beginning for our members and our politicians, and I’m sure that John’s determination to achieve Independence will be rewarded in the upcoming General Election.
“I have therefore come to the conclusion that I will not proceed with my nomination for Party Leader but instead support the nomination of John Swinney for Party Leader and First Minister of Scotland.”
