Female SNP politicians are quitting the party en masse amid warnings the Scottish Parliament is becoming a “hostile environment for women”.
With the May 2026 elections looming, 14 female SNP MSPs – almost a quarter of the party’s Holyrood cohort – have said they will not stand again.
Those leaving their posts next year have warned of “bullying, booing and braying” in Parliament – and have raised fears that a surging Reform UK could make things worse.
Already, First Minister John Swinney has been forced to defend the SNP’s record, vowing his party does not have a “woman problem”.
14 female SNP MSPs – almost a quarter of the party’s Holyrood cohort – have said they will not stand again
PA
But in a series of scathing statements to The Guardian, outgoing MSPs have laid into their own party.
“Neither party nor Parliament are able to effectively support women when they encounter difficulties, and that’s why we are losing far too many talented women to the detriment of democracy,” Elena Whitham said.
While Michelle Thomson told the newspaper: “Politics is generally very misogynist, and I don’t think the SNP can be complacent about its own internal mechanisms which mean that examples of inappropriate male behaviour – including bullying and sexual harassment – are not tackled.”
Others have warned of bullying and factional tensions inside the SNP – while staffers have blamed the Scottish Tories.
LATEST ON THE SNP:
John Swinney has been forced to defend the SNP’s record, vowing his party does not have a ‘woman problem’
PA
One ex-party official said: “The bullying, booing and braying from the Tory benches whenever an SNP woman makes a progressive intervention is awful.
“Women feel they can’t speak up, especially on issues like LGBT+ inclusion.”
Meanwhile, former SNP MP Joanna Cherry warned The Telegraph that Swinney’s “woman problem” denial was “not true” and accused the party of “refusing to condemn a party member convicted of threatening to rape me”.
Cherry also lashed out at ex-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s plans to allow transgender people to “self-identify” their legal gender by signing a statutory declaration.
Cherry also lashed out at ex-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s plans to allow transgender people to ‘self-identify’
PA
Sturgeon’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill was shot down by the British Government over concerns it threatened women’s spaces.
MSPs’ concerns also focus on Westminster – the SNP’s leader in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, has reportedly drawn up an all-female “hit list” of sitting MSPs whom they hope to replace with former MPs next May.
Flynn sparked outrage last year when he announced that he planned to stand for election in Holyrood – potentially forcing out the incumbent female MSP – while maintaining his seat in Westminster.
