Joanna Cherry

Joanna Cherry QC has been the SNP MP for Edinburgh South West since 2015. Viewed by many as a future leader of the party, she is the SNP’s spokeswoman for home affairs and justice, having previously run to be Westminster group leader. In a previous life, Cherry worked as an advocate and was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2009, a year after joining the SNP. A vocal proponent of independence even before entering parliament, she set up the “Lawyers for Yes” group during the 2014 referendum campaign and continues to write as a regular columnist for The National. Cherry’s other parliamentary duties include her continued membership on the committee for the UK’s future relationship with the EU as well as on the joint committee for human rights. Despite her support, a newly devised plan to push through ‘indyref2’ in the face of government opposition was rejected by Cherry’s own party in November 2020. Her campaign to be the SNP’s new national secretary is ongoing.