SNP plans to cut staff at party headquarters

The party suffered a heavy defeat in July’s general election and was left with nine, MPs compared to 48 in 2019.

Along with the loss of its status as the third biggest party at Westminster, the SNP also lost out on a bulk of its so-called short money.

This is provided to opposition parties to allow them to carry out their parliamentary duties.

Last month the SNP’s chief executive Murray Foote quit the post after 14 months.

The former newspaper editor said that he “could not make the necessary personal commitment” to leading a reorganisation of the party after their disappointing election performance.

The SNP has also struggled for substantial donations in recent years, relying instead on membership fees.

It is the biggest political party in Scotland, with figures from June showing it had 65,000 members.

But falling membership numbers have triggered a drop in income.

The current membership is roughly half what it was after a surge following 2014’s independence referendum.

This year, 81% of the party’s funding came from membership fees, compared to just 35% in 2015 – the year former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led it to a massive 56 seats in the general election.