Falkirk SNP MP John McNally announces he will be stepping down at next UK general election

A barber to trade, he had the largest majority – 19,701 votes – of any Scottish MP when he was first elected in the 2015 UK general election, while his 34,831 votes were said to be largest polled by any SNP candidate in any election at that time.

Eight years later, he becomes the seventh SNP member to announce they will not be contesting the next Westminster election, which is expected to be held in 2024.

Father-of-two Mr McNally is now 72 and there have been suggestions for some time that he would not be seeking re-election. Announcing his decision today, he said: “It’s been an honour to represent the communities across the constituency for the last eight years but the time is right to pass the baton on to someone else, hopefully younger. When I was elected I only ever anticipated it would be for one five-year term but here we are eight years later.

"Travelling from the constituency to London every week takes it toll and not just on the politician but also their families. Even when you return on a Friday there are lots of meetings with people in the constituency and it is difficult to unwind. My wife Sandra has retired now and it’s right that I spend more time with her.”

The SNP deputy leader Mhairi Black revealed last week she would also be stepping down, describing Westminster as an "outdated, sexist and toxic" working environment.

Mr McNally agreed the current set up was outdated but said during his time in the House of Commons he had met “more very good people than bad”.

He added that while he fully believed in devolution for Scotland, he also thought that other areas of the UK would benefit from more control being given to regional areas.

"What I’m most proud of from my time as an MP is to have been able to help local people,” he said. “During lockdown I saw the benefit of spending more time in the constituency and seeing first-hand the issues affecting people. I was able to give advice to hairdressers, barbers and the hospitality industry about the importance of checking their water supplies for legionnaire’s disease. Things like that are important.

"I’ve also found the most rewarding part of being an MP is helping those who are unable to help themselves. People who have come up against brick walls with bureaucracy, if I’ve been able to help then that’s a bonus.

"But it has also been good to be able to be able to bring Falkirk Council leader Cecil Meiklejohn to London and introduce her to people who can be beneficial to this area.”

He also takes a delight in what he referred to as his “humiliation” of fashion giant Burberry when, at a meeting of the environmental audit committee in 2018, he noted the company had burned nearly £30 million worth of products to protect its brand name. He said this was a “practice which needs to change”.

John McNally prides himself on representing people in the area where he grew up and where for over 30 years he had a barber shop. A community activist who only joined the SNP in 2000, five years later he found himself a Falkirk councillor after he won the Herbertshire by-election with a 24 per cent swing from Labour.

At that time he said: ““Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that one day I would end up in Westminster. I never had any ambitions for myself, only for the people in the community I represent to do what I can to help them when I can. I want to go to Westminster and represent the people of Falkirk to the best of my ability.”

He retained his seat at the 2017 general election with a reduced majority of 4923 votes but at the 2019 general election, Mr McNally retained his Falkirk seat with a much increased majority of 14,948.

Asked if he thought there would be a general election before 2024, Mr McNally said: “I’ve never got a prediction wrong but that’s because I never make predictions. We could have an election in six weeks or six months, who knows with a divided Tory party and a Labour leader who flip flops over issues.

"But whatever happens, I always say ‘fail to prepare and prepare to fail’ which is why I always encourage people to put themselves forward for the parliamentary selection process. Then they can learn what will be asked of them and decide if it is something they want to go for.

"Before I went to Westminster I had no idea what it was like. I spent some time with Dennis Canavan who explained some of what goes on to me but I don’t think anything prepares you for it.”

He says that in a bid to escape the “Westminster bubble” he meets up with six colleagues to go for a meal on a Tuesday evening. “It’s good to get away from it all and over the years we’ve made some great friends in the restaurants. I think you need that break to continue to be able to operate effectively.”

Former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has already announced he will be standing down at the next election, along with Mhairi Black. Party colleagues Peter Grant, Angela Crawley, Douglas Chapman and Stewart Hosie are also set to quit.