The SNP will announce their new Westminster leader today, with two high-profile Highland MPs in the reckoning.
Ian Blackford, Joanna Cherry and Drew Hendry are all competing to succeed Angus Robertson after he lost his Moray seat in the General Election.
Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard had put himself forward before withdrawing from the race on Tuesday night, saying he does “not have majority support for becoming leader”.
Ms Cherry, the MP for Edinburgh South West, said on Twitter: “Happy to confirm that today I shall seek nomination as @theSNP Westminster group leader.”
That came after Mr Blackford – who represents Ross, Skye and Lochaber – tweeted on Monday night: “I can confirm that I will be a candidate for SNP group leader at Westminster.”
The former investment banker is thought to be the favourite for the role and was the party’s treasurer before a highly-publicised falling out with then-leader Alex Salmond.
Mr Hendry, the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said he was “delighted to announce” he was seeking the support of colleagues for the post.
Angus Robertson won acclaim across the House during during his tenure as Westminster leader for his forensic questioning of Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions.
However, the former Moray MP was one of the party’s high-profile defeats on election night, losing the seat by 18,478 votes to 22,637.
The SNP won 35 seats the vote, down 21 from 2015 – with the Tories, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all making gains across Scotland.
