Former SNP MP Lisa Cameron says she will no longer vote for 'toxic nationalism' after defecting to the Conservatives

Dr Lisa Cameron left the SNP last week to join the Conservatives

Dr Lisa Cameron has defended her decision to not step down as an MP, saying she would not vote for “toxic nationalism” if there was a second independence referendum.

The MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow defected from the SNP to the Conservatives last week after facing a challenge to be re-selected as the SNP candidate for the seat at the next general election.

Now in an interview with BBC Reporting Scotland, Dr Cameron said she had to undergo counselling and be prescribed antidepressants to cope with the way she was treated.

Dr Lisa Cameron has spoken about her switch to the Conservatives at Westminster

She said she had been given death threats since her defection, adding: “The two big issues are trust and competence, that’s the reason I joined the SNP in the first place.

“I feel over the past year that trust has gone, and if I don’t trust [the SNP] to look after my own welfare, how can I trust them to look after Scotland’s welfare?

“I had so many sessions with a counsellor talking about how I coped going into the tearoom in Parliament when people were not speaking to me.

“I felt ignored and I needed someone to reach out – that’s why I feel so supported and grateful to the Prime Minister’s office. I didn’t expect that at all for someone who is so busy and in such a prominent position to show such kindness and to reach out across the party.”

Dr Lisa Cameron MP

Dr Cameron said the recent SNP loss in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election showed people want to move on from “division” and “toxic nationalism”. She said she would not be voting for independence anymore because she had “lost trust in the SNP”.

“The only regret I have is that I stayed in the situation I was in for such a long time struggling and that I didn’t perhaps heed the advice of health professionals like my GP saying ‘we can counsel you, we can give you some medication, but unless you change your situation you’re not going to feel any different’,” she said.

“And I just feel a tremendous relief now that I’m out of that situation.”

Dr Cameron was an NHS clinical psychologist before being elected to the House of Commons in 2015.

She said since her defection, she had received threats from people saying they would “brick” her in the street, and emails threatening her life, forcing her and her family to leave their home.

During her interview, the MP also defended her decision to not step down and trigger a by-election.

“Lots of MPs move party and actually create their own parties and didn’t have by-elections because it is not part of the process,” she said.

“I know [First Minister] Humza Yousaf had called for that, but my understanding is actually in the Scottish Parliament that was put forward earlier this year and the SNP did not support the premise that if you change party from your initial election, then there should be a by-election or recall.

“So I don’t think there should be one rule for them and a different rule for me.”

She added: “Certainly in this Parliament those who have switched parties are all men except for me – why should I be the one to go?”