Michelle Thomson, the suspended SNP MP, should quit the House of Commons altogether, according to the majority of Scots.
An exclusive poll for The Times, published on the first day of the party’s conference in Aberdeen, found that 59 per cent of voters want to see Ms Thomson, who is embroiled in a property scandal, resign as a member of parliament. Only 17 per cent think she should not.
Even among those who voted for the SNP at the general election, support for her is lukewarm, with 43 per cent saying that she should quit and 29 per cent saying that she should not.
Most Scots also want Alistair Carmichael, the former Scottish secretary involved in the leaking of a memo about Nicola Sturgeon, to quit as an MP, according to the survey. The Liberal Democrat, who represents Orkney and Shetland, has been taken to the Electoral Court by protesters who want him to vacate his seat.
According to the poll by YouGov, 67 per cent of Scots want him gone, while 18 per cent want him to stay. Among those who voted Lib Dem in May, 43 per cent think he should quit, while 45 per cent do not.
Advertisement
Ms Thomson was due to speak at a fringe event at the conference, which begins in Aberdeen today. There was also due to be a celebration of “the 56” Nationalist MPs at Westminster. It has been renamed.
Police are investigating a string of property transactions, linked to Ms Thomson, which led to her lawyer, Christopher Hales, being struck off. She resigned the SNP whip when news of the investigation broke and was suspended from the party as a result. Ms Sturgeon has refused to say whether she will be allowed back into the party after the inquiry is completed, but it is understood the first minister is privately furious about the allegations.
Ms Thomson was a figurehead for the pro-independence Business for Scotland group during the referendum campaign. The property company that she ran promoted the benefits of buying and selling former local authority properties. The SNP opposes the right to buy.
Despite the risk of damage to its reputation caused by Ms Thomson’s suspension, today’s Times poll shows the SNP is the most trusted party, with 45 per cent of Scots saying they trust it a lot or a fair amount. The rate for Scottish Labour is 25 per cent, for the Scottish Conservatives 21 per cent and for the Scottish Liberal Democrats 17 per cent.
Half of Scots still do not trust the Nationalists — although they are still doing better than Labour at 67 per cent, the Tories at 71 per cent and the Lib Dems at 73 per cent.
Advertisement
YouGov also asked how sleazy voters considered the parties to be. The pollster found that 38 per cent of Scots thought Labour gave the impression of being very sleazy and disreputable, while 41 per cent disagreed. For the Tories, the respective rates were 38 per cent and 44 per cent, for the Lib Dems 29 per cent and 44 per cent, and for the SNP 29 per cent and 56 per cent.
Responding to the polling on Mr Carmichael’s future, a Liberal Democrat spokesman said: “Alistair Carmichael will continue to play a full role in the new stages of the legal process that are ongoing, confident of a positive outcome. Alistair’s focus will remain working hard for his constituents and doing his job as MP for Orkney and Shetland.”
Ms Thomson’s lawyer did not respond to messages requesting a comment on the poll last night. She has denied any wrongdoing.
It also emerged yesterday that she will not face a formal inquiry by Westminster’s standards watchdog.
Two complaints had been lodged with the parliamentary commissioner for standards against the MP for Edinburgh West, one by Andrew Bridgen, a Conservative backbencher, and the other by the former Lib Dem MP John Barrett. The complaints referred to Ms Thomson’s property deals and asked Kathryn Hudson, the commissioner, to rule on whether Ms Thomson had broken parliamentary rules.
Advertisement
Ms Hudson has now decided that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a full investigation of either.