THE hand of history weighs heavily on the palatial Commons office and the SNP's new Westminster leader Ian Blackford, now in the space where previous occupants included Charles Kennedy and Nick Clegg.

The SNP took over the office space reserved for the leader of the third-largest political group at Westminster when it supplanted the Liberal Democrats in 2015. It's a status the SNP retains despite its loss of 21 seats in the election on June 8.

Looking around his new quarters and reflecting on his place in it he says simply, "It's not something I anticipated."

Blackford faces a bittersweet reminder every day at Westminster as he makes his way up the stairs to his office past the walls decorated with photo portraits of SNP leaders past and present.

These include one of Angus Robertson, Blackford's predecessor who lost his seat in last month's General Election, and could be seen as the SNP's attempt to put its own stamp on the office after years of Lib Dem domination.

"I'm a victim of circumstances and I very much wish that Angus was here and had carried on as leader," Blackford says wistfully.

It's a loss he says is keenly felt by the SNP at Prime Minister's Question Time, the weekly Commons slot at which the former Moray MP was widely viewed to have performed effectively at in the last parliament.

"You play the ball as it's presented to you and I've got masses of admiration and respect for Angus and I look back with great fondness to the way he conducted himself as leader," he says.

Asked whether he feels daunted as a relatively unknown MP in the Commons chamber stepping into the shoes one of the SNP's big beasts Blackford says: "I don't feel that at all".

When meeting the Sunday Herald Blackford is fresh from skirmishes with the Tories in the Commons chamber where he pressed ministers over controversial changes to pensions for women born in the 1950s who are facing cuts to their state pension.

Fifty-six-year-old Blackford, an Edinburgh-born former investment banker, who became the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber in 2015 after defeating Charles Kennedy, has a softly-spoken manner reminiscent of the late LibDem leader who died just weeks after losing his seat.

Despite being a Highland MP, something Blackford describes as an "enormous privilege", before getting down to talking politics, he's keen to mention his allegiance to Hibernian, a football club he's began supporting in his childhood days in Edinburgh.

Quickly turning to the subject of his first few weeks as leader, speaking on the penultimate day of parliament before the start of Westminster's summer recess, he says, "I very much enjoyed it," he says.

"I'm actually quite relaxed," Blackford adds on his leadership style, as he leans into the padded seat in his office as if to prove the point, while an SNP press officer positioned nearby smiles and nods in agreement.

"I've been around a while and I'm aware of the history of the party and those that have played a role," referring to his joining the SNP 40 years ago at the age of 16.

"I'm aware of the responsibility that I've got of working with colleagues and showing leadership," he adds in a suggestion that he knows the SNP has a battle on its hands in Scotland after its electoral setback.

"As a minority government there's a tremendous opportunity to make sure that we're as effective as we can be," Blackford says.

He believes the SNP's 35 MPs could still be pivotal in tight Westminster votes due to the precarious electoral numbers facing Theresa May's Government.

Blackford says he already has a gameplan to make life as difficult as possible for the Tory Government and suggests close cooperation with the main opposition Labour and other parties could be an option.

"I think, if we are to defeat the government that it has to be based around putting an effective coalition together, so working with others in other parties regardless of who they are is something we'd be very happy to do," he spells out.

It's issues such as the plight of the Waspi women – Women Against State Pension Inequality – whose aim is to achieve fair transitional arrangements for women born in the 1950s, and for whom the state pension age is being raised from 60 to 66 by 2020, that he feels the Tory government could be vulnerable on.

Blackford adds: "When it comes to issues on an issue-by-issue basis it's not necessarily the case that the DUP will support the Government." He predicts the controversy could tempt DUP and even rebel Tory backbenchers to break ranks with the Government.

"There are Conservative MPs who signed the Waspi pledge and said that they would support it. They cannot now renege on that pledge."

Blackford, who describes himself as firmly in the social democratic mould, says of his time as a banker, including a stint in the City of London: "I'm a guy from working-class roots who ended up getting the opportunity to work in the financial area."

He insists that independence is not on the back burner despite Nicola Sturgeon putting her referendum plans on hold.

"I think that what has happened as a consequence of Nicola's statement is that we've taken away the focus from the timetable now and I'm gratified that gives us the opportunity to actually talk about the fundamentals and to talk about what an independent Scotland would look like," he says.

Adding: "I joined this party because I believe in independence and it's up to us to win the trust of people in Scotland and we've clearly got a manifesto commitment from the 2016 election that says if there is a change in circumstances there's the question of a second referendum."

It's language straight from the SNP playbook, but it might also be enough to turn Blackford, like Robertson, into a popular figure in in the months ahead.