SNP report small increase in members as Tories refuse to publish figures

The SNP has reported an increase of around 2,700 members despite the ongoing crisis engulfing the party.

Membership has risen from 72,168 at the start of March midway through the SNP leadership contest to 74,889, but remains significantly lower than the 104,000 reported in 2021.

Deputy leader of the SNP, Keith Brown, had said on Sunday the party had “seen upticks in membership across the country”.

The publication of the fresh figure on Monday comes amid demands for transparency from opposition parties around the SNP’s governance and finances, currently subject to a police investigation that saw former chief executive Peter Murrell and former treasurer Colin Beattie arrested.

Pro-independence protesters hold up Scottish National Party (SNP) emblems as they join a march organised by the grassroots organistaion All Under One Banner

Each of the major political parties in Scotland was asked how many members they currently had, with the Scottish Greens confirming their membership figures stood at 7,646.

Despite leading calls for transparency in the SNP, the Scottish Conservatives refused to provide a figure, stating the party did not publish membership numbers.

Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats were contacted for comment, but have yet to respond.

The last available public figure for Scottish Labour is around 16,000 as of 2021, while the Scottish Liberal Democrats were reported to have 4,185 in 2020.

Murray Foote, the SNP’s former head of communications, was forced to resign over statements he made to the press about the size of the SNP membership during the leadership contest.

Stories from the Sunday Mail had reported drops of around 30,000 members, a figure denied by the SNP’s press team under Mr Foote, sparking his resignation when the true total was later published.