Category Archives: Op-eds

What on earth was Margaret Ferrier thinking when, having had a test for Covid-19, she left home and got on a train to London, potentially putting at risk everyone on the train, everyone on whatever method of public transport she used to get from Euston to Westminster, everyone she encountered at Westminster, including Commons and parliamentary staff?

And if that wasn’t bad enough, what on earth was she thinking when she left her London base and got on a train home to Glasgow when she knew she had the virus and was actually putting everyone she met at risk from contracting a potentially deadly disease?

I feel furious because it’s despicably reckless behaviour like this that is basically keeping me at home at the moment. Because my husband and I are at high risk from this disease, we are keeping our interactions with other people to a minimum. We know we are going to have to do that many months to come. We might feel better about going out to shops and restaurants if we knew that everyone was taking social distancing and mask-wearing seriously, but we just don’t have the confidence that they are. And when we see things like Margaret Ferrier wandering the length of the country while knowingly infected with Covid, it is a reminder of why we are having to make our world smaller.

I do know that it is easier for us than for many others. All of us can do everything we need to do from home and we do all generally like each other and get on well. I am struggling a bit, though, with not being able to see my friends in person as much as I am used to doing. It’s great to catch up online, but it can never replace actually being with people.

Nicola Sturgeon was understandably livid about Ferrier’s actions and took to Twitter to say that she should resign as an MP. They have thrown her out of the SNP group but they can’t force her to resign as an MP. She certainly will come under pressure to do so from both within  the party and beyond.

However, there is one way she can be forced to resign. The recall process. This was introduced in 2015 by the Liberal Democrats in coalition government. It provides a mechanism for forcing a by-election where an MP has been found guilty of some wrongdoing, either in court or by being found in breach of parliamentary standards. It’s a two stage process which is triggered in these circumstances:

• If they are convicted in the UK of an offence and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained and all appeals have been exhausted (and the sentence does not lead to automatic disqualification from being an MP);

• If they are suspended from the House following report and recommended sanction from the Committee on Standards for a specified period (at least 10 sitting days, or at least 14 days if sitting days are not specified).;

• If they are convicted of an offence under section 10 of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (making false or misleading Parliamentary allowances claims)

A petition can then be activated and operated by the Returning Officer for the seat. If 10% of the electorate sign it, a by-election, in which the MP can stand, is held. You can find out more in this Commons Library briefing.

The process has been used three times, resulting in two by-elections. The most recent, in Brecon and Radnorshire last year, was won by Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds. Unfortunately she lost the seat just over four months later in the General Election.