A Fife SNP MP who was at the centre of a “plot” to get rid of him has announced he will stand down at the next UK general election.
Dunfermline and West Fife’s Douglas Chapman becomes the fourth nationalist to say he will quit Westminster when voters next go to the polls.
Mr Chapman, who has served as an MP for eight years, said it was not an “easy decision” to decide against running for the House of Commons again.
The Fife politician briefly served as the SNP’s treasurer in 2021, but quickly resigned after claiming he did not have enough information to do the job.
Announcing his plans stand down, he said: “This has not been an easy decision for me to reach.
“Following discussions with my family and close political friends I have decided not to seek a nomination to be an SNP candidate at the next Westminster election.
“Serving our constituency over the past eight years has been the privilege of my life.”
Last month, Mr Chapman said attempts to unseat him at the next general election had “backfired badly”.
Fife SNP councillors were forced to deny they had been involved in a plot to oust him.
Naz Anis-Miah, who represents Dunfermline South in the local authority, was touted as the leading contender to replace him.
At the time, Mr Chapman said: “As for the story based on unnamed ‘sources’, I suspect this slur is merely an attempt by my political opponents which, for them, has back-fired badly.”
Mr Chapman backed Kate Forbes in the SNP leadership contest, even after she received backlash for revealing she would not have backed gay marriage.
The Dunfermline and West Fife MP is the second nationalist in the region to confirm they will not be standing at the next election.
Last week, Glenrothes politician Peter Grant confirmed he intends to quit when the country next goes to the ballot box.
Former Westminster party leader Ian Blackford also plans to stand down, months after he was replaced by Stephen Flynn in the top job.
Lanarkshire MP Angela Crawley also confirmed she will not put her name forward to run at the next election.
Labour Councillor Graeme Downie, who will run locally in the next election, said: “I think Douglas might have realised people in Dunfermline and West Fife are looking for change.
“My job is the same as it was before, to convince people I am the right person to deliver new opportunities.”
Five years before Mr Chapman entered the UK Parliament, the SNP finished third in his constituency with just 10% of the vote.
But as the SNP turned Scotland’s political map yellow Mr Chapman was able to up his party’s share of the vote by more than 20,000 in an extraordinary turnaround.
Labour came close to regaining the seat just two years later in 2017, but Mr Chapman was able to just hang on by less than 1,000 votes.
Mr Chapman said: “This is not about retirement, far from it.
“I intend to work hard for my constituents for the remainder of the parliament and continue to raise expectations and ambitions in our constituency.”