Achi news desk-
Yesterday Mr McCormick told Andrew Learmonth of the Herald that he was confident of reaching the necessary level of support.
Mr McCormick has previously been known to be keen to take on senior party officials on issues he does not agree with.
READ MORE: SNP member McCormick faces backlash over leadership bid
During the party’s annual conference last year, Humza Yousaf’s independence strategy was described as “flatness in a trance”.
He told party delegates at the event in Aberdeen last October: “What we have here is flatulence in a trance because we’re being offered things that nobody knows what we’re talking about — this thing ‘ and ‘that thing’ and all. rest.”
Mr McCormick challenged then party president Michael Russell for his role in last year’s conference, losing by 79 votes to 599 in a delegate ballot.
In his draft proposal to be president of the SNP sent to the Herald last year he promised he could become independent within a year.
The eight month timeframe would be shorter than that proposed by Alex Salmond before the 2014 referendum. The then First Minister’s white paper suggested that independence would be achieved on March 16, 2016, some 18 months after referendum in September 2014 if Scots had voted Yes.
“History tells us that there is a point in the march of a nation when we have to replace the old traditions with floodgates of opportunity to achieve our mission; Independence,” he said.
“As National President I offer you the key to the floodgates so that Scotland will be an independent nation state in 12 months’ time.
“But to get us over the line we, the members of the SNP, must embrace independence and not waver between just promoting independence and asking permission. We are a nation, not a pressure group.”
He added: “The next election must be the Independence Election just as Mr Yousaf said in Dundee. There has never been a better time to win Independence. It is within our grasp.”
“The electorate supports, or broadly sympathizes with, yet the appeal of the SNP is fading.
“Then there is the warning to the SNP. Devolved Management is not enough now. We must replace it. Our politicians must lead us to achieve our historic purpose and all our candidates must show their full commitment to’ r Independence Plan to get us over the line.” .”
Mr McCormick previously stood in 2021 for the role of party president but later withdrew his nomination saying he had inadvertently ticked the box.
A solicitor by profession, he is the convenor of the SNP’s Dumbarton constituency branch and director of the pro-Yes campaigning organization Business for Scotland.
He is not a well-known figure outside the party, but he is familiar to many within the organization where he is known to campaign on land reform issues.
The Herald has contacted Mr McCormick to find out if he will put his name forward before the deadline of noon tomorrow. He has not yet responded to The Herald’s request.
But today he faces criticism from other figures in the party for challenging Mr Swinney and possibly pulling out the process of putting a new leader in his place.
Some fear that a race could focus public attention on internal party divisions in the coming weeks before a general election, expected later this year.
Pollster Mark Diffley noted the party’s concerns on Twitter should Mr Cormick put himself forward.
“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 hush-hush that postpones the inevitable, is not exposing divisions and costing money is what the party needs at the moment,” he said.
In television interviews this morning, Mr Swinney warned potential rivals about entering the race saying it would “delay the ability of the [party] to start rebuilding it.”
Responding to his intervention, Gillian Martin, SNP MSP for East Aberdeenshire, and minister for energy, just transition and fair work, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “The question that anyone who is concerned should for our cause to ask themselves is, are my actions proceeding. that case? The question that anyone who cares about our country should ask is, is what I am doing good for my country I can answer with a confident yes on both counts.”
Former SNP minister Marco Biagi, now a councilor in Edinburgh, wrote on X: “Although all 70k members of the SNP have the right under the party’s constitution to stand for election as leader, there is a dire need for anyone who considers it to grow a sense of perspective. room.”
Earlier this month, the SNP announced the timetable for the leadership contest.
Under the timetable, the nominations which opened on Monday 29 April at 11:59pm, will close at midday tomorrow, while
any possible vote would open on Monday 13 May at midday and close on Monday 27 May at midday.
Writing on X today it appeared that some pro-Union activists were very keen to see Mr McCormick standing.
Sam Taylor, who runs the pro-UK group These Islands, posted Mr McCormick’s speech from last year’s SNP conference.
“Leadership candidate Graeme McCormick gets a rousing reception at last year’s SNP special conference in Dundee. (He offers a unilateral declaration of independence.),” he wrote.
Mr Taylor also noted: “John Swinney is killing Graeme McCormick’s chances before the fight has even started. Very disrespectful.”
He also wrote: “Who is Graeme McCormick, the SNP activist rumored to have secured the 100 nominations needed to stand against John Swinney for the leadership? He made a name for himself at last year’s conference with the memorable speech “flatulence in a trance”.
