What does Mhairi Black’s departure mean for the SNP?

Nicola Sturgeon says she is ‘gutted’ at the decision by the SNP Westminster group’s deputy leader, Mhairi Black, to stand down before the next general election. The MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South told the News Agents podcast that the House of Commons is a ‘toxic workplace’ that has taken a toll on her ‘body and mind’. She also says she is ‘just tired’ and wants to spend more time with her partner Katie, whom she married in 2022.

Black joins a raft of SNP MPs, including the former Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who have decided to abandon Westminster politics in recent months. Also in the departure lounge are MPs Peter Grant, Angela Crawley, Stewart Hosie and Douglas Chapman. The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier also looks to be on the way out, though not by choice. Instead, she had the whip removed for breaking Covid rules during the pandemic and has been suspended by the House of Commons.