SNP Leadership contest 2004

'There's no hurry.' Alex Neil MSP, 1 st July 2004.

Neil stalls on expected SNP leadership challenge

By Tom Gordon in the Herald 2 nd July 2004

ALEX Neil, the left-wing SNP MSP, yesterday failed to declare his candidacy for the party's leadership, despite widespread expectation that he would.

Mr Neil said he would continue to consider his position over the weekend, but would not make any announcement until next week at the earliest. "There's no hurry," he said.

However, the delay raised speculation that Mr Neil, who lost a leadership contest against John Swinney in 2000, was struggling to find enough support. In recent days, both Fergus Ewing, shadow finance minister, and Alex Salmond, SNP leader at Westminster and a former party leader, have questioned Mr Neil's loyalty in the wake of Mr Swinney's downfall.

Roseanna Cunningham, deputy SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, shadow justice minister, and Mike Russell, a former MSP, have announced they will run for the leadership.

The deputy leadership is being contested by Mr Ewing, Kenny MacAskill, and Christine Grahame.