
I don’t imagine any politician much enjoys being sacked from the front bench but it pays to be forewarned, and fortunately I was. So when I took a terse call from my group leader a mere 30 minutes before he intended to announce his reshuffle it was not the nasty surprise that was presumably planned.
The reasons for my sacking were not made clear but I was not surprised. For some time a small but vocal cohort of my SNP colleagues has engaged in performative histrionics redolent of the Salem witch trials. The question – do you believe or have you ever believed that women are adult human females? – is one I must answer in the affirmative, but it’s not a response that is popular with some who have the ear of the leadership.