Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

SNP’s Ian Blackford will not stand at next election

The former SNP Westminster leader confirmed his plan to step down days after admitting he was weighing up his future.

Ian Blackford has rubbished claims he will quit his role.
Ian Blackford will step down as an MP at the next election. Image: PA.

Former SNP Westminster chief Ian Blackford has confirmed he will quit the House of Commons at the next election.

The MP said he does not intend to stand for reelection when voters next go to the polls.

It comes just days after Mr Blackford admitted he had been weighing up his future.

Mr Blackford was first elected to Westminster in 2015 and succeeded Angus Robertson as his party’s Westminster leader two years later.

The Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP served in the top job for five years before stepping down last December.

He was later replaced by Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn, who had denied attempting to oust Mr Blackford in a coup just weeks earlier.

‘Privileged and humbled’

In a statement, Mr Blackford said: “With the SNP selection process for the next Westminster election taking place over the coming weeks, I have thought long and hard about whether to offer myself as a candidate again.

“It has been an enormous privilege to serve as the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber since 2015.

“I am grateful to the SNP membership for selecting me – and I remain privileged and humbled that people across my home constituency have put their trust in me at three elections.”

Nicola Sturgeon with Ian Blackford  at the opening of the 2019 SNP autumn conference in Aberdeen.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon thanked him for his “massive contribution”.

She added: “Ian has been a loyal and steadfast friend to me through all the ups and downs of my own leadership – for which I will always be grateful.

“There is no doubt his departure from frontline politics will be a huge loss to the SNP’s Westminster group and our party but Ian deserves the chance to enjoy spending more time at home with family and friends – and, undoubtedly, continuing to contribute to the independence cause in other ways.”

‘Sorely missed’

Mr Flynn, who took over from the outgoing MP, called him a “stalwart” for the party.

“I know Ian will be sorely missed by his constituents and colleagues when he stands down as an MP but I am confident that he will have a key role in continuing the campaign for Scotland to become an independent country.”

Lochaber businessman Angus MacDonald had already kickstarted his campaign to topple the SNP MP and take the seat for the Liberal Democrats.

The party, who finished second in the last election, claimed Mr Blackford is “running scared” as it ramps up efforts to defeat him.

Conversation