New MP Lara Bird said the UK Government was “descending into chaos again” as she prepared to take her seat in the House of Commons.
Ms Bird is being sworn in at the Commons on Monday along with new Makerfield MP Andy Burnham – who is now expected to become the next prime minister after Sir Keir Starmer announced on Monday morning that he will resign.
With the UK now facing the prospect of its seventh prime minister in 10 years, the new SNP MP said that “Scotland has been hammered by a decade of constant chaos at Westminster”.
She spoke out after successfully retaining the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry seat for the SNP in the by-election last week, after her predecessor Stephen Gethins made the switch to Holyrood.
But the party lost the Aberdeen South seat, which had been held by former Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, to the Conservatives.
Ahead of formally taking her seat, Ms Bird pledged she would “stand up for families in the face of Westminster chaos”, adding that she would “work hard every day to make the voice of people in our community heard at the highest levels”.
But she said: “It says it all, that on the day I’m travelling to the UK Parliament for the first time as the new MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, the Westminster Government is descending into chaos again.
“Scotland has been hammered by a decade of constant chaos at Westminster, and damaging decisions imposed by the UK Government, which have harmed our nation’s interests.
“We’ve had seven UK prime ministers in 10 years, Brexit wiping billions of pounds from Scotland’s economy, Westminster austerity cuts slashing public services – and the UK Government’s economic failure causing unemployment to rise and the cost of living to soar.”
Insisting that “Scotland can do so much better than this”, Ms Bird added: “My key priority will be demanding help for families with the soaring cost of living, securing investment for our local communities, and ensuring people across Scotland can have the choice of a better future with independence.”