A politician has been branded “shameless” for launching a bid to drop the oath of allegiance to King Charles III in the Scottish Parliament. Kevin Stewart, who is a Scottish National Party MSP for Aberdeen Central, launched his bid following Grenada’s decision to drop the oath from their national Parliament.
Writing on X, Mr Stewart said: “Grenada has decided to drop the oath of allegiance to the King, isn’t it time that Scotland followed their lead? I’ve lodged a Scottish Parliament calling for us to have the power to have MSPs pledge their allegiance to the people of Scotland and not the British crown.”
His lodged motion read: “That the Parliament commends Grenada’s reported decision to drop the oath of allegiance to the British crown and replace it with a pledge of allegiance to Grenada; recognises that the people of Scotland are sovereign, and believes that Scotland’s Parliament should have the power to follow Grenada’s lead and have its members pledge allegiance to the people of Scotland and not an unelected monarch.”
Under the Scotland Act 1998, Members of the Scottish Parliament must take an oath of allegiance, or make a solemn affirmation, before they can take part in parliamentary business.
After learning of his motion, Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser told GB News: “This is a shameless bid from an SNP MSP to try and pander to republican voters inside and outside of his party.”
He added: “The reality is that the King and the monarchy remain one of the most loved and respected institutions across Scotland.
“Most people will wonder why nationalist MSPs are focusing on this constitutional navel gazing at a time when they should be tackling the real priorities of Scots.
“They want this SNP Government to be focused on reducing NHS waiting times, growing the economy and restoring standards in our schools, rather than engaging in the worst sort of petty student politics.”
As reported by GB News, if the motion gains enough support, it could be debated in Holyrood.
However, any vote passed in the chamber would not have the power to change the law.
