Ian Blackford refuses to rule out standing for Scottish Parliament after stepping down from Westminster

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ian Blackford has refused to rule out standing for a seat in the Scottish Parliament in the future.The former SNP Westminster leader told the Record he was "focusing on what's in front of us just now" but that thinks he's "still got things to give".The Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP announced on Tuesday that he will stand down from his seat at the next election.This comes just months after he resigned as the party's Westminster leader amid rumours that there was an attempt to oust him.A key ally of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and current FM Humza Yousaf, Blackford was appointed as the party's business ambassador days after his resignation.When asked if he could see himself in Holyrood at some point, Blackford said: "I'm only focusing on what's in front of us just now.

And my primary desire is to help the First Minister, to help the government and I'm not thinking beyond that. "I think there's a big, big task at hand to make sure that I'm assisting him in developing the successful green economy.

And that's what I'm going to be focusing on."When asked if he would rule out running for the Scottish Parliament, he said: "I think I've still got things to give.

Don't take that [as me] signalling that my desire is to return to frontline politics to go into Holyrood. "Let's just concentrate on what's in front of me just now."Blackford served as the SNP's Westminster leader from 2017 until December 2022.