The SNP needs to deal with the Angela Constance distraction

Justice Secretary Angela Constance has faced repeated calls to either resign or be sacked over allegations she misled parliament.

How we got here is a little complicated, but it basically stems back to a debate in September. The Scottish Conservatives tried to get an amendment added to a government bill to try to launch a grooming gangs inquiry in Scotland.

At this point, Ms Constance said she opposed the idea and said Professor Alexis Jay, an expert in child sexual exploitation, agreed with her.

This was later quietly clarified - Professor Jay was in fact referring to England and Wales and was actually in favour of further evidence gathering in Scotland.

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The SNP argues this was a generalised comment, but that has not washed with opposition parties who are now planning to hold a vote of no confidence in the justice secretary.

That might sound dramatic, but she is likely to survive this test as the Scottish Greens have indicated they will back her.

It is still not an ideal situation for the SNP who will be hoping this all gets swept under the carpet.

There is a chance this might happen in the short-term. This vote is due to take place in the coming days and then Holyrood almost immediately breaks up for the Christmas holidays. When they return to parliament in January, they will be thrown straight into budget negotiations.

However, the opposition parties will not forget this saga. As soon as campaigning for the May election gets under way in earnest, this will become a gift to opposition parties who are hoping to challenge the SNP.

The nationalists are still on top in the Holyrood polling. Last week an Ipsos poll showed they are on course to win 35 per cent of the vote, which is 17 points ahead of second place Reform UK.

Scottish Labour is slumping even further amongst the public but is still clinging on to the dream of winning the keys to Bute House. They can use this situation to their advantage by telling voters the SNP is taking their support for granted and believes they can do whatever they like without consequence.

Similarly Reform UK will use their populist rhetoric to say that mainstream politics is broken and mainstream politicians can no longer be trusted.

There is more at stake here for the SNP beyond Ms Constance becoming an election distraction.

First Minister John Swinney is backing his justice secretary to the hilt but he is also being accused of hypocrisy. He called for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to be sacked for allegedly misleading parliament during the UK budget, saying her position was “untenable” - and says this is completely different from the situation currently engulfing Ms Constance.

There are still five months to go until the crunch vote. On the one hand this is not a lot of time for parties to alter their fortunes, but on the other hand politics can change overnight.

If SNP hope to make gains at the election they will need to figure out a strategy on how to avoid being bogged down by issues such as this.