Exclusive:Peter Murrell hasn't come up 'at all', says SNP by-election candidate
Lara Bird, who is standing for the Nationalists in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, said “folk are not talking about Murrell on the doors”.
Peter Murrell hasn’t come up on the campaign trail “at all”, an SNP by-election candidate has said.
Lara Bird, who is standing for the Nationalists in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, said “folk are not talking about Murrell on the doors”.
The by-election is taking place next week after former SNP MP Stephen Gethins was elected to Holyrood.
Ms Bird, who has been working for the SNP in Westminster for the past three years, was selected as a candidate last month.
When asked whether Mr Murrell embezzling money from the SNP had come up, the former lawyer said: “Not at all.
“Folk are much more interested in talking about what Labour are not doing to tackle the cost of living crisis.
“And they're much more interested in talking about what the SNP are doing to tackle the cost of living crisis.
“Folk are not talking about Murrell on the doors at all.”
Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband and former SNP chief executive Mr Murrell pled guilty to embezzling £400,000 of SNP funds a fortnight ago.
She said she wants to become an MP to stop future generations “the same heartbreak that I felt back in 2014” when Scotland rejected independence.
When asked why she was running for the House of Commons, she said: “I had just turned 16 in 2014 and my first ever vote was in the referendum.
“That one vote has shaped everything that I've done since, and every career move that I've made since has been to try and make the world a better place, the sort of place I want an independent Scotland to be a part of.
“I think we're in a very critical juncture for Scotland and Scotland's future at the moment, where we can either choose a broken Brexit Farage Britain or we can choose independence.
“I think we're in a constitutional setup unlike anything we've ever seen before with pro-independence governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
“So I wanted to take this opportunity to represent the community that raised me, where I grew up, at this crucial moment for Scotland's future.”
She added that it was “heartbreaking” when Scotland did not vote for independence.
She said: “I've always had an interest in politics, and grew up in a household where we spoke about politics a lot, and that was a part of my childhood, but that vote really did change everything for me.
“Because I saw a future for Scotland, and I saw that future not materialise, and that was heartbreaking.
“And so I want future Scots, I want future generations not to feel the same heartbreak that I felt back in 2014.”
Ms Bird is standing against Labour’s Heather Doran, Reform’s Bill Reid, the Conservatives’ Jack Cruickshanks and the Lib Dems’ Tanvir Ahmad.
Mr Gethins was only elected as SNP MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry in 2024. He had previously been MP for North East Fife between 2015 and 2019.
Before that, he was an adviser to Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
Scotland also has a by-election in Aberdeen South after former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn was elected to Holyrood.
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