Life as a nationalist MP in the Commons

Last June was an unusually nervous time for the SNP. Riding high in successive post-referendum elections, suddenly majorities were shaky and canvassers were finding life tough at some doorsteps where folk had grown concerned about a Brexit-related indyref2.
David Linden was among those in new SNP seats – won in the euphoria of the 2015 UK election – with a lot to defend. The new candidate pulled through in Glasgow East, holding the seat by a squeaky majority of 75. A few months later he is scornful of Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and her 13 Scottish MPs and their performance since Theresa May’s hopeless June campaign.

So what now? How is life for a nationalist MP in the Commons as the Government party tears itself to shreds over Brexit? Linden arrived at Newsnet to discuss all this and more with our regular host Derek Bateman. And he is frank about what he perceives as weaknesses on the part of Scottish Labour leadership contenders, and the debate over Brexit itself. Asked about his role as an MP, he quotes the veteran nationalist parliamentarian Winnie Ewing: “We are there to settle up, not settle down.”