SNP 'won't get majority' in Scottish election says Jim Sillars

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The former SNP deputy leader has weighed in on the revelations of the Alex Salmond inquiry and has warned that the bitter feud between the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor meant the party was being “torn apart.” Mr Sillara labelled the row engulfing the SNP as a “shambles” and warned the party may still achieve the most seats at Holyrood in May but risk falling short of an absolute majority as the allegations made by Mr Salmond take their toll.

Mr Sellars told the Russian broadcaster RT last Friday: “One thing I am now certain of is that with this shambles and with the revelations that Alex brought out today,

“The SNP might still be the majority party because the opposition is so weak.

“They might be the majority party.

“They won’t get an overall majority,” claimed the former SNP deputy leader.

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His comments came as Ms Sturgeon already faces up a devastating polling setback after a new opinion poll has found that 44 percent of people would vote to stay in the UK if a referendum were held tomorrow, with 43 percent saying they would vote to leave.

Once ‘don’t know’ answers are removed, the two sides are deadlocked 50-50 on the constitutional question. 

The results came after 22 consecutive polls showed a majority of Scots would vote for independence.

The fall in support for the Nationalist cause appears to be linked to the Scottish Government’s handling of the Salmond affair.

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During a remarkable six-hour evidence session at Holyrood on Friday, the former first minister repeatedly said, under oath, that his successor had broken the ministerial code.

The Holyrood committee is looking into the botched investigation of the harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

It was ruled to be “unlawful” and “tainted by apparent bias” following a judicial review at the High Court in Edinburgh, with Mr Salmond awarded £512,000 in costs.

He was later cleared of a number of sexual assault charges after a trial at the same court last year.

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The First Minister’s spokesman said Mr Salmond had failed to prove his allegations in his evidence to the committee, and “also gave testimony which directly undermined some of the central planks of his conspiracy theories”.

On Saturday, the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said he did not believe “under any circumstances, under any determination, that the First Minister has broken the ministerial code”.

But he also refused to say whether Ms Sturgeon should resign if she is found to have broken the rules, describing the question as “hypothetical”.

“Mud has been thrown around by political opponents over the course of the last few months,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

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