THE SNP have said they are "anticipating an early General Election" and have opened up applications for parliamentary candidates.
Ahead of the Tory leadership contest coming to a close tomorrow - with a new PM to be announced on Monday - the SNP said in an email to members that they expect voters to be asked to hit the polls before a fresh ballot is due in 2024 and are "gearing up" for a "vital" campaign.
The party opened up candidacy applications and set a deadline of September 9 - several weeks prior to the Supreme Court hearing on whether Holyrood can hold a second independence referendum without permission from the UK Government.
The email states: "The next prime minister will be announced next Monday, September 5.
"In anticipation of an early General Election, the party have opened applications for parliamentary candidates.
"The next Westminster election, whenever it comes, could be one of the most important in the party's history.
"If you would like to stand as a candidate, please fill in the form, and we'll be in touch about the assessment process.
"If you are a sitting MP, or have recently gone through assessment for another election, you'll need to update your form to be included."
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak fought it out in front of Tory members at their final hustings on Wednesday night.
Bizarre in the extreme. If you want to be an SNP Westminster candidate you must submit application by 9th September Supreme Court isn’t even looking at the Scot Gov Case until the middle of October. Seems cover of newscycle used for the night of the long knives pic.twitter.com/qTEUUGIZO8
— Christopher McEleny (@ChrisMcEleny) August 31, 2022
Alba general secretary Chris McEleny said it was "bizarre in the extreme" the SNP was asking for candidate applications so long before the Supreme Court hearing.
Sharing a photo of the email, he said on Twitter: "Bizarre in the extreme. If you want to be an SNP Westminster candidate you must submit application by 9th September.
"Supreme Court isn't even looking at the Scot Gov case until the middle of October."
An SNP spokesperson added: "The only predictable thing about the Tories is that their policies are disastrous for people in Scotland.
"While Westminster fails to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and staggers from one crisis to the next, the SNP is gearing up for a campaign that is vital for us to win and build a more prosperous and fairer nation."
