The Scottish National party has been accused of “embezzling” voters after opposition leaders highlighted the crisis over Peter Murrell’s misuse of £400,000 from party funds. The scandal overshadowed a Holyrood motion tabled by First Minister John Swinney to call for a second independence referendum.
Fulfilling a promise made during the Holyrood election campaign, Swinney used the first full day of parliamentary business on Tuesday to stage a symbolic vote calling for the power to hold a fresh referendum. He offered no new legal or constitutional arguments but challenged pro-UK parties to agree Scotland had a right to decide its own future.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said Swinney’s attempt to revisit the issue immediately after the election, amid global insecurity and a cost of living crisis, was evidence of the SNP’s selfishness. He referenced Murrell’s embezzlement of SNP funds donated by members, saying it provided “really stark” evidence that the SNP put its own interests first.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said the timing of Swinney’s debate was “comical” given the political agenda was dominated by Murrell’s embezzlement. He accused Swinney of helping to quash “valid concerns” about the party’s finances before the police investigation, and criticised Nicola Sturgeon’s “no comment” responses during police interviews as “the tactics of organised crime”.
Swinney’s efforts were backed by Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer, who accused pro-UK parties of deploying “increasingly desperate mental gymnastics” to deny that the SNP and Greens’ combined seats produced a pro-independence majority. However, Scottish Tory finance spokesperson Craig Hoy countered that pro-independence parties won only 41% of regional votes on 7 May.
