IAN Blackford faces humiliation after a high-profile attack on Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross today.
At Prime Minister’s Questions the SNP’s Westminster leader said his colleague Neil Gray had saved the taxpayer £175,000 by standing down as an MP while he seeks election as an MSP at Holyrood.
Mr Blackford made the claim as it was planned that the by-election for Mr Gray’s Airdrie and Shotts constituency would be held on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections, May 6.
He said: "By doing the right thing, [Mr Gray] will avoid a dual mandate and a separate by-election that would cost the public £175,000" and also urged Boris Johnson to force Mr Ross to resign as an MP and follow Mr Gray’s lead.
However the Covid pandemic has upset the party's calculations.
With the parliamentary writ triggering the byelection expected on Friday, there are only two possible dates for the vote - April 29 and May 6.
The Herald understands that the by-election for Mr Gray’s constituency will not be held on May 6 following a risk assessment by North Lanarkshire.
The authority’s returning officer is understood to have already completed a safety assessment of the two possible dates and concluded the by-election should be on April 29.
If both contests were on the same day, the council would have to operate twice as many polling stations - one for each ballot.
While 16 and 17-year-olds can vote in the Holyrood poll, they cannot vote for elections to Westminster and the constituency boundaries also vary between Westminster and Holyrood presenting further challenges.
It is also understood there would be staffing concerns as counting for a Westminster constituency must begin within several hours of the polls closing, whereas the Holyrood vote will be counted the following day.
Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said “This is an utter humiliation for Ian Blackford. His shameless grandstanding has backfired spectacularly.
"Douglas Ross hasn’t cost taxpayers an extra penny but it turns out that Blackford’s own colleague Neil Gray will force a by-election, exposing the SNP’s outbursts as sheer short-sighted hypocrisy.
"Ian Blackford should make up for this embarrassing gaffe by going on national television to explain why his own SNP MP is costing taxpayers up to £175,000, at least according to the SNP’s own figures."
An SNP spokesman said: "Neil Gray stood down from the UK Parliament to seek election to the Scottish Parliament, and to fulfil party rules against holding a dual mandate.
"Neil took guidance on timing to ensure a by-election could be held on May 6th - the same date as the Scottish Parliament election.
"Ultimately though, the decision of which date to hold the by-election lies with the Labour-run North Lanarkshire Council, once the writ has been moved."
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