Nicola Sturgeon: ‘No appetite’ for removal says commentator

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Scotland’s First Minister and her ruling party have come under pressure over recent weeks, with bitter rows around their Scottish independence strategy and the ongoing inquiry involving former First Minister Alex Salmond. Earlier this week, an SNP grandee called for a “revolt” to be launched against the current party leadership amid rising internal tensions. Jim Sillars, former deputy leader of the SNP, warned there must be a change in the party’s leadership as soon as possible as nationalists continue to furiously go to war with each other.

The former Glasgow MP in the 1990s warned “time was short” for a change of leadership and called on the SNP’s ruling body, the National Executive Council (NEC), to make the necessary changes.

Mr Sillars also admitted he would not vote for the party in the Scottish elections, which are scheduled to take place on May 6.

Polling Sir John Curtice said current polls show the SNP is on course to achieve an overall majority at the elections, as they are running at around 53 percent in the constituency vote, and around 45 percent on the regional vote.

But the University of Strathclyde Politics Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research has warned internal battles have left the SNP the most fractious it has been in possibly four decades.

Sir John told Express.co.uk: “The biggest danger facing the SNP is not the opposition, it’s the internal arguments within the party.

“If you were doing a political profile for the SNP, what you would have in red at the top of it is a serious row with Alex Salmond and allies that have become a serious personality dispute.

“This has been fuelled with differences of ideology and ironically, at a time when the SNP has never been closer to independence, it has not looked as fractious for 20 years, maybe even 40 years.

“It does seem to be the case for some people within the SNP, the internal battle is more important than the party’s external standing.”

The comments from the polling guru come as a bombshell poll suggests Scottish people are now beginning to doubt whether the SNP can remain united in the face of mounting pressure.

The poll was undertaken by Savanta ComRes for The Scotsman which interviewed 1,002 adults aged 16 or over online from February 4-9.

It revealed just 42 percent of those quizzed believe the SNP is united, down by eight points against the survey from January and five points below December’s figures.

Just under half (45 percent) believe the SNP is divided, an increase of six points compared with January and eight points when compared to December.

George Galloway, who last week signalled his intent after his All for Unity party was registered with the Electoral Commission, warned the SNP is “tearing itself to pieces” and is now in “tatters”.

He told Express.co.uk: “The SNP are the real opposition to themselves and are literally falling apart. They are in tatters.

“They are tearing themselves to pieces, and each day brings a new development.

“Jim Sillars, the former deputy leader of the SNP and a highly respected figure, called for a revolt from within the SNP to overthrow the current leadership.

“He said if that doesn’t happen, then he can’t vote for the SNP.”

The veteran MP added: “The end is near for Nicola Sturgeon.

“The party is in open revolt and big names are calling on her to be removed.

“You can be sure that her days are numbered.”

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