There was a Scottish National Party leadership election to choose the new Depute leader of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

at the SNP's conference on 14–15 October 2016. The SNP's Westminster Group Leader

Angus Robertson Angus Struan Carolus Robertson (born 28 September 1969) is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Former Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 201 ...

MP won the election. The election followed the resignation of the incumbent Depute Leader

Stewart Hosie Stewart Hosie PC (born 3 January 1963) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East since 2005. He has served as the SNP Treasury Spokesperson since December 2022. He served as the SNP Sh ...

. Hosie, the partner of Scottish Government cabinet member Shona Robison, announced his intention to step down at the party conference in May 2016 after it emerged he was engaged in an affair with a freelance journalist, who had previously been involved in an affair with the SNP MP Angus MacNeil.

Campaigns

Four candidates took part in the election: *

MP * Alyn Smith MEP *

Tommy Sheppard Thomas or Tommy Sheppard may refer to: * Thomas Sheppard (cricketer) (1873–1954), English cricketer * Thomas Sheppard (MP) (1766–1858), Whig (and then Conservative) Member of Parliament (MP) for Frome *Sir Thomas Sheppard, 1st Baronet (died 182 ...

MP * Inverclyde Councillor Chris McEleny Alyn Smith's campaign focused on the dual issues of strengthening Scotland's relationship with the European Union following the Brexit vote, and the need for a new Yes movement centred around the SNP. Angus Robertson's campaign also focused on the issues of Brexit and the European Union, and particularly on preserving Scotland's place in Europe. Chris McEleny's campaign focused on the importance of local government in light of the upcoming

2017 Scottish local elections The 2017 Scottish local elections were held on Thursday 4 May, in all 32 local authorities. The SNP retained its position as the largest party in terms of votes and councillors, despite suffering minor losses. The Conservatives made gains and di ...

. Tommy Sheppard focused his campaign on revamping internal SNP policy making, with the intention of making policy decision making more open to the SNP party membership. Existing policy decisions are largely taken by the leadership, with minimal input from the SNP grassroots membership. He has been described as Robertson's "left-wing challenger". Both McEleny and Sheppard are members of the SNP Socialists group, which said it was "challenging for leadership" of the SNP. Other individuals suggested as potential candidates included Mhairi Black,

Humza Yousaf Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim cabinet minister in the Scottish Government. A member of the Sco ...

, and

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE WS NP (born 5 October 1970) is a Scottish politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Ahmed-Sheikh served ...

. Humza Yousaf later ruled out running for the position, instead stating his support for Robertson.

Results

The election used the single transferable vote (STV) system.

Endorsements

Angus Robertson

Chris McEleny

References

{{SNP

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2016 in Scotland 2010s elections in Scotland 2016 elections in the United Kingdom Scottish National Party depute leadership election