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 looks set to change rules to allow new members to take part in selecting candidates

SNP looks set to change rules to allow new members to take part in process to select candidates.
SNP looks set to change rules to allow new members to take part in process to select candidates.

New members who joined the SNP following the independence referendum look set to get a say in selecting Westminster candidates.

Party leaders have recommended changing the rules at the instigation of transport secretary Keith Brown, a candidate in the deputy party leader contest.

At present the rules say that members must be in the party for a year before they can take part in the selection process.

The national executive wants to suspend the rule for the forthcoming general election and the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.

It has put forward a motion that will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the SNP’s national council immediately prior to the party conference in Perth next month.

Mr Brown, the Scottish Transport Minister, said the move showed the SNP was “open, welcoming and adaptable”.

“Somewhere approaching 60,000 members have joined the SNP since the referendum and each of them joined on the same basis as I did – we want independence and we want to make Scotland a better place,” he said.

“I get to vote to choose our candidates and I couldn’t see any reason why new members shouldn’t have that right.

“That’s why I wrote to the party’s convener, Derek Mackay, to ask for the rules to be relaxed to allow all of the new members a say in choosing candidates.”

He added: “What kind of a welcome to the party would it have been for those members if the first thing they were told was that they wouldn’t be allowed a say in who our candidates for Westminster are?

“I know that some people disagreed with me but I’m pleased to see that the national executive committee sees it my way.”