Joanna Cherry takes veiled swipe at SNP leadership with 'courage' declaration after losing Edinburgh seat

High-profile SNP politician Joanna Cherry has spoken out after losing her seat in Edinburgh South West

Ousted SNP MP Joanna Cherry has said the party must now have the “courage” to address what has gone wrong in recent years, as she took a veiled swipe at decisions made by the leadership.

The high-profile politician - once viewed as a challenger to Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister - was one of the major casualties as Labour won all three of the SNP’s Edinburgh seats in a night of dramatic results in the Scottish capital.

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Ms Cherry, Tommy Sheppard and Deidre Brock were all defeated as Labour swept in with comfortable majorities.

Edinburgh council transport convener Scott Arthur is the new MP for Edinburgh South West, which Ms Cherry had represented since 2015. It was seen as the hardest constituency in the capital for Labour to win, but Mr Arthur took it with a majority of 6,217.

Labour’s Chris Murray won Edinburgh East and Musselburgh from Mr Sheppard by 3,715 votes. And Tracy Gilbert took Edinburgh North and Leith from Ms Brock with a majority of 7,268.

Labour's Ian Murray held his Edinburgh South seat with an increased majority of 17,251. And Lib Dem Christine Jardine was re-elected in Edinburgh West, also with an increased majority of 16,470.

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Ms Cherry said: “The story of tonight is the Labour landslide and it reflects massive dissatisfaction with the previous Conservative government and sadly the Scottish National Party has been a casualty of the landslide.

“But, to be honest, there have been other factors which have made it less likely for people to vote SNP and that’s made it hard for us. My fate - and the fate of many other SNP candidates tonight - means that my party must now have the courage to address what has gone wrong in recent years, otherwise this setback for the Scottish National Party will not be reversed - and I shall have a lot more to say about that in the days and weeks to come.

“However, this setback for the SNP should not be interpreted as a setback for the cause of Scottish independence. Opinion polls still show that half of voters in this country support independence, and therefore the issue of our constitutional future is very much still alive - and Labour would be foolish to ignore that.”

Ms Cherry said she hoped Labour in government would remember that women make up 51 per cent of the population. “The rights of women to dignity, privacy and safety should not be ignored or sidelined by any political leader and we should not be demonised for airing those rights,” she said.

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The former MP said she would take time to decide what she did next, but promised: “I shall continue to stand up for universal human rights, for equality for all, but most particularly for the rights of women and the rights of lesbians.”

Ms Cherry spent much of her time as an SNP MP criticising the party’s leadership and policies on gender. She was first elected in 2015 and sat on the party’s front bench as justice and home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster.

Ms Cherry rose to prominence after she led the challenge against Boris Johnson’s five-week proroguing of parliament, which was ruled unlawful by the UK’s highest court. But in 2021, the former lawyer was sacked from her party’s front bench after a clash with ex-SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.

The outspoken politician also publicly disagreed with former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and the party’s plans for gender reform laws.

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Following Ms Sturgeon’s resignation as party leader, Ms Cherry called for the party to move towards a new leadership style, breaking away from the “toxic” atmosphere she said existed towards her in the party.

The bitter leadership contest to replace Ms Sturgeon saw her become the only parliamentarian to endorse Ash Regan, who later defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba party.

Ms Cherry repeatedly rejected claims she would also defect to Alba and instead aligned herself under the SNP’s new leadership.

Meanwhile in his speech at the count, Mr Murray, who is expected to be named as Scottish Secretary in the new government, highlighted his “political hero”, the late Labour leader John Smith - “the greatest prime minister we never had” - who said that all he asked was the opportunity to serve.

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Mr Murray said: “For the past six weeks we have asked the Scottish people to give us the chance to serve. Whether you’ve voted Labour all your life, decided we were the best choice this time or you’ve voted Labour for the very first time, we will work hard with humility to deliver the trust you have placed in us.

“For much of my time as MP for Edinburgh South I have been Scotland’s sole Labour MP. It’s been sometimes lonely, often hard, but always hopeful - hopeful that one day that Labour values will again be recognised as Scotland’s values. Being the sole Labour MP ends tonight - with a bang.”

It was the same pattern across the Lothians, as in Edinburgh. Former Cabinet minister Douglas Alexander was returned to Westminster as MP for East Lothian with a majority of 13,265 over SNP candidate Lyn Jardine.

Labour’s Gregor Poynton won Livingston from the SNP’s Hannah Bardell by 3,528 votes; Kirsteen Sullivan defeated SNP MP Martyn Day with a majority of 8,323; and Kirsty McNeill won Midlothian by 8,167 votes over the SNP’s Owen Thompson. In a speech at the Edinburgh count, after her result was declared, Joanna Cherry said the election outcome must prompt the SNP to “address what has gone wrong in recent years”.

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