VOTERS in Rutherglen and Hamilton West will get the chance to oust disgraced MP Margaret Ferrier when Scotland's first recall petition opens on June 20.

If, over the course of six weeks, 10 per cent of her constituents add their names, either in person at one of ten signing stations or by postal vote, the former SNP politician will lose her seat, triggering a by-election.

The process was sparked after MPs backed a thirty-day suspension from the Commons for Ms Ferrier.

READ MORE: MPs suspend Margaret Ferrier for Covid rule breach

Unusually, there was a vote on the sanction in the Commons. Normally, the punishments recommended by the Standards Committee are just nodded through.

However, some MPs objected, sparking a division.

In the end, the result wasn't close, with MPs voting 185 to 40 to suspend Ms Ferrier. 

It’s likely the 32 Tory MPs voting against the suspension were doing so because they fear it could set a precedent if Boris Johnson is sanctioned for misleading parliament. 

Alba's two MPs, Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill also voted against the lengthy penalty. 

Of the 185 MPs voting for the suspension, 28 were Tories, and 127 were Labour. 

Just 14 of the SNP's 45 MPs voted for the suspension, the rest abstained. 

Previously, some of the party's politicians have expressed some sympathy for Ms Ferrier. 

Joanna Cherry previously claimed the way her former colleague had been treated by some in the SNP as “shameful.” 

Allan Dorans, who sits on the Commons Standards Committee, previously backed attempts to soften Ms Ferrier's sentence, voting for her to be suspended for nine sitting days.

Had that passed it would have killed off any chance of a recall petition. 

Under the procedure - established in the wake of the expenses scandal - it can only be triggered by a suspension of at least 10 sitting days.

Yesterday, Mr Dorans voted for the suspension. 

Ms Ferrier was seen in the Commons chamber during the vote, accompanied by SNP MP Carol Monaghan.

Ms Monaghan, who represents Glasgow North West, did not vote. 

Ms Ferrier was found guilty of culpable and reckless conduct at Glasgow Sheriff Court last August after she admitted travelling on a train in September 2020 despite knowing she had Covid. 

The MP also spoke in the House of Commons and visited a number of locations in Glasgow, including a mass in Mungo’s church and a bar in Prestwick, Ayrshire, while waiting on the results of a Covid test.

After the positive result came through, she lied to colleagues and said she had to go home to visit a sick relative. 

She was ordered to carry out 270 hours of community service after pleading guilty to wilfully exposing people “to the risk of infection, illness and death”.

READ MORE: Panel's brutal verdict on Ferrier as appeal fails

As well as being the first recall petition in Scotland, it will also be the first electoral contest requiring Voter ID.

If the petition is successful Ms Ferrier can stand in the resulting by-election. She can also avoid the petition by resigning. 

The campaign is already well underway for Labour, who remain the only party to have selected a candidate.

Speaking after the Commons vote, Michael Shanks said “This is welcome news for those of us who live here, but it is a disgrace that Margaret Ferrier has dragged this process out for so long, leaving her constituents unrepresented in Parliament.

“We’ve spoken to thousands of voters who feel let down by Margaret Ferrier’s actions - people who made sacrifices during the pandemic and rightly expected their MP to do the same.

“The people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West deserve so much better than a rule-breaking MP.

“I want to be the local champion this area deserves, and I am ready to fight for every vote and deliver the change Rutherglen and Hamilton West needs.”

SNP by-election campaign coordinator David Linden said: "There must now be a by-election, which the SNP has been calling for since Ms Ferrier's covid rule breach first came to light in 2020.

"People in Rutherglen and Hamilton West are paying an unacceptable price for the damaging policies of the Tories and pro-Brexit Labour Party, as the cost of living soars.

"The SNP is the only party offering a real alternative. We will put the cost of living, NHS and independence at the heart of our campaign - and we'll work hard for every vote to ensure the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West can elect a strong SNP MP to stand up for them.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said his party were "unequivocally in favour of a recall petition and a by-election."

"Not only is this a chance to give Rutherglen and Hamilton West the representation it deserves it is also a chance to send a message to the new SNP First Minister that people are sick of the divisive and out of touch politics he and his party represent.”  

Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said Ms Ferrier should "do the right thing and resign as a MP now."

“Instead, it looks as though she will brazenly continue taking her MP salary until the bitter end," he added.

READ MORE: Ruglonians could be the next voter ID guinea pigs

Mr Hanvey, ALBA's Westminster leader said they voted against the suspension because Ms Ferrier had "accepted multiple punishments already."

He also suggested the MP had been treated poorly by the SNP in a bid to distract from a growing row about leaked messages connected to the Scottish Government's botched handling of sexual harassment allegations against Alex Salmond.

“It appears to many that Margaret was used as a convenient prop by a first minister under pressure from leaked WhatsApp messages and thrown to the wolves.

"If this is to be the benchmark for an error in judgement then I expect the former prime minister to be judged every bit as harshly. What has been done to Margaret is disproportionate, unjust and wrong.” 

Ms Ferrier has been approached for comment.

If she loses her seat, the timing of the by-election will be up to the SNP, who have the responsibility to move the writ in the Commons. 

They must put a motion to MPs, and if agreed, the Speaker will notify the relevant Returning Officer.

There is no statutory time limit for the moving of the writ.

However, because the petition ends in the middle of summer, the earliest they can move the writ is when the Commons returns in September.