Scottish Labour's Deputy Leader, Jackie Baillie reacts to the news of the removal of  Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier - video Dailymotion

The Scotsman

Scottish Labour's Deputy Leader, Jackie Baillie reacts to the news of the removal of  Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier.  A total of 11,896 voters backed a recall petition – the first to be held in Scotland – to get rid of Ms Ferrier after she was suspended from Westminster for breaking Covid rules.  The move will trigger a by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, which is expected to take place in October and will be fiercely contested by both the SNP and Labour.  Ms Ferrier, who was elected as an SNP MP but sits as independent after being removed from the party, was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days for her breach of Covid rules.  In 2020, she took a train from Scotland to Westminster after testing for the virus, before then travelling back north by train after being confirmed as Covid positive.  A total of 8,113 voters – 10 per cent of the constituency electorate – were required to back the recall petition for there to be a by-election.

Transcript

00:00 Clearly, the people of Rotherglen and Hamilton West have spoken and they've voted for change.

00:09 They've been let down by two incompetent governments and they've been let down by a rule-breaking

00:16 MP.

00:18 It's important that we have a by-election as quickly as possible.

00:22 The earliest possible date is the 5th of October.

00:25 We are raring to go with Scottish Labour's local candidate, Michael Shanks.

00:30 He lives in the constituency, he's a teacher.

00:33 He will be the change that the people of this constituency need and we're looking forward

00:38 to the campaign.

00:39 Are you at all surprised by the result today?

00:42 No, we were confident of meeting the target but I have to say, at the end of the day,

00:48 it is up to the people in the constituency to speak and they've done so very clearly.

00:54 They don't want Margaret Ferrier as the MP anymore.

00:57 They want the opportunity of a fresh start and that fresh start, we think, is with Scottish

01:02 Labour.

01:03 Can you tell me a little bit about the candidate?

01:05 Michael Shanks is a teacher.

01:08 In fact, his first job was at a school within the constituency.

01:12 He lives here, he's aware of the issues that concern people in the area and he will make

01:18 a great representative for the people of Rotherglen and Hamilton West, given the opportunity to

01:24 serve this area.

01:25 Thank you.

01:25 [Applause]

Scottish Labour's Deputy Leader, Jackie Baillie reacts to the news of the removal of Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier

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