THE SNP's biggest annual social gathering has been cancelled – in the clearest indication yet of low long it will take us to enter phase four of lockdown exit.

The glitzy event was set to take place at the end of November, but will not now go ahead over coronavirus fears.

The party told this newspaper it is "not feasible" told hold such a gathering "until such time as a vaccine is available".

The First Minister, her SNP chief executive husband Peter Murrell and a host of cabinet ministers were expected to attend this year's Independence Magazine St Andrews' Awards Dinner.

Hosted in Glasgow by the party's own members' magazine, the November event is a decade old and includes the presentation of honours for activists and elected members.

Attendees travel from around Scotland and beyond, including countries like South Korea and Estonia.

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Health Secretary Jeane Freeman was one of the speakers in 2019, when MPs, MSPs and councillors were in the 700-plus audience at the four-star DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Glasgow Central - the largest venue of its kind in the city.

Ticket sales for this winter's gathering had already begun.

However, it has now been cancelled amidst ongoing public health fears.

That's despite the country's cautious move into phase one of the lockdown easing plan set out by Sturgeon.

Mass gatherings will not be allowed until phase four.

Scottish Government guidance states that this phase will be announced only when the virus has "ceased to be a significant issue in Scotland", stating: "That might be because, for example, an effective vaccine had been developed and used on sufficient scale in Scotland and/or we have an effective treatment available across Scotland that essentially removed the health risk from the virus and/or transmission is so low we are confident that the virus can be controlled without the restrictions of phase three."

The gala's cancellation suggests we may not reach that stage until December or beyond.

David Brotchie of Independence Magazine commented: "We have to lead by example. We can't have people cancelling events all over the country and not cancel our own.

"We'd love to have this event but the lives of our members, their families and the venue staff are far more important."

Brotchie went on: "It might seem a bit early to cancel, but we wanted to let people know where they stand."

While the awards will still take place, the format has not yet been decided.

However, it's understood that dates have been provisionally agreed for 2021.

An SNP spokesperson commented: “We are really disappointed to cancel the dinner for this year. We know how much the magazine subscribers enjoy coming together to celebrate our national day each November.

"However until such time as a vaccine is available, it’s simply not feasible to host 750 plus people for dinner in a socially distanced way.”