When the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford rose in the House of Commons on Wednesday and hurled another spear into the side of the wounded prime minister, there was something missing.
Sure, Blackford added to the chorus of demands for Boris Johnson’s resignation. And, of course, he mocked the frontbenchers then propping up their leader.
But there was not a word from the SNP’s Commons leader about the scandal which has now ended the Johnson premiership.
In contrast with Labour leader, Keir Starmer, who discussed in upsetting but necessary detail the case of MP Chris Pincher, investigated and found guilty of sexual harassment then promoted into the whips’ office by Johnson, Blackford had nothing to say about the bleak story behind the PM’s downfall.
But, then, what line of attack could he have taken?
Could Blackford have pointed out that it showed an unforgivable failure of leadership for Johnson to have appointed as a whip an MP about whose behaviour there had been complaints? No, he could not, because that also describes the situation in the SNP where concerns were raised about MP Patrick Grady who was then promoted into the whips’ office.
Could Blackford have attacked Johnson for attempting to cover up the behaviour of his whip? No, he could not, because when Blackford first learned of a complaint against Grady, his instinct was to call the victim to a meeting with the man who had harassed him.
Could Blackford have raged at Johnson’s complete failure to consider the impact of Pincher’s behaviour on his victims? No, he could not, because, although he eventually got round to making public statements about the need to support victims, he was heard on a recording of an SNP group meeting calling on fellow MPs to rally behind Grady, who had been found guilty of inappropriate behaviour by House of Commons authorities.
SNP is currently hobbled
It was recently reported that Grady’s victim – an employee of the SNP’s Westminster group – has been threatened with disciplinary action for emailing colleagues about the way his case had been handled.
The SNP is currently hobbled when it comes to the matter of why Boris Johnson’s time in 10 Downing Street is drawing to an end. The party’s press office – usually a hyperactive machine, firing out endless streams of righteous indignation – has been silent.
It’s time for Nicola Sturgeon to replace Ian Blackford as the SNP’s Westminster leader and to see that Grady is expelled from the party
Blackford’s appalling handling of complaints about Patrick Grady will haunt him. Grady’s continued presence in the SNP will be an ongoing embarrassment.
It’s time for Nicola Sturgeon to replace Ian Blackford as the SNP’s Westminster leader and to see that Grady is expelled from the party. Otherwise, she risks difficult questions about how safe the SNP is.
Euan McColm is a regular columnist for various Scottish newspapers
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