UPDATE: The SNP confirmed later that they had been offered a seat on the Scottish Affairs Committe, saying it "speaks volumes about the broken Westminster system, that the SNP was not afforded an automatic place". Read the newest story here.
THE SNP have not been given a seat on the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster.
An official release from the London parliament on Tuesday listed 10 MPs as having seats on the committee.
There is a final, vacant seat available which will be filled in due course. However, it is thought that due to the balance of the House of Commons, this may be the Tories’ to assign. As yet, it is unclear.
As well as running the Scottish Government, the SNP won 30% of the vote north of the Border in the General Election in July. However, it returned just nine MPs.
The LibDems, who won 9.7% of the Scottish vote and returned five MPs, have two seats on the committee. These are held by MPs Angus MacDonald and Susan Murray.
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The Tories also have two seats – one of which has been given to the MP for Windsor, Jack Rankin. The other is filled by Harriet Cross, who was elected in Gordon and Buchan for the Conservatives. The party returned five Scottish MPs on 12.7% of the vote.
Labour, who returned 37 Scots MPs with 35.3% of the vote, have six seats on the committee, including the chair, Patricia Ferguson.
The remaining five Labour MPs on the committee are: Maureen Burke, Lillian Jones, Douglas McAllister, Elaine Stewart, and Kirsteen Sullivan.
"Individual nominees put forward by political parties were agreed in the House of Commons, following a Committee of Selection meeting. Some committees still carry one or two vacancies which are expected to be filled shortly.
"Party seat allocations across and within committees is proportionate to the number of MPs elected to the House of Commons at the General Election, with the precise number negotiated between the party whips through the Committee of Selection."
Before the General Election, SNP MP Pete Wishart had chaired the committee.
In September, Labour's Ferguson, the MP for Glasgow West, was elected to replace him as chair.
Sources within Labour have said that they aim to use their control of the committee to put pressure on the devolved government, and call SNP ministers to give evidence.
The Times reported in August that Labour were looking to use the committee to prepare for the next Holyrood election. "There is crucial ground to be laid for 2026," one source told that paper.
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