The Scottish National Party has removed a £100,000 motorhome from its financial records after the vehicle was acquired by former chief executive Peter Murrell. This accounting adjustment appears in documents released by the Electoral Commission alongside reports of a surprising party surplus.
The £100,000 motorhome and Peter Murrell's embezzlement
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has officially written off the value of a £100,000 motorhome that was purchaseed using party funds by Peter Murrell, the former chief executive. According to documents published by the Electoral Commission, the vehicle has been stripped from the party's balance sheet. This move follows the criminal conviction of Peter Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who received a prison sentence of over five years for embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.
The motorhome became a symbol of internal dysfunction during Operation Branchform, the police investigation that led to Murrell's conviction. While the SNP initially claimed the vehicle was intended for pandemic-era campaigning, court records revealed that Peter Murrell had purchased several motorhome holiday guides around the time of the acquisition. The vehicle was reportedly kept at the home of Murrell's mother in Fife, rather than being used for official party business.
A £60,000 loan without a formal agreement
Financial disclosures reveal a lingering and awkward debt: the SNP still owes £60,000 to Peter Murrell from a loan he provided to the party in 2021. As the report says , this figure remains on the balance sheet despite the absence of a formal loan agreement, interest charges, or specific repayment terms. The party has noted that Murrell has not formally requested the money back, leaving it unclear if the sum will ever be repaid or eventually written off.
This outstanding liability creates a strange paradox where the SNP is simultaneously attempting to recover embezzled funds from Peter Murrell while technically remaining his debtor. party treasurer Peter Grant has indicated that a proceeds of crime hearing is scheduled for next month, through which the SNP hopes to recover the full amount embezzled by the former chief executive.
John Swinney's 'formidable financial strength' and the £509,903 surplus
First Minister John Swinney has characterized the party's current fiscal state as one of "formidable financial strength," citing a surplus of £509,903 for the 2025 accounts. This represents a dramatic swing from the previous year, where the SNP faced a deficit of nearly £400,000. According to the party, this recovery was not the result of increased revenue , but rather a aggressive 2024 redundancy push that significantly cut staffing costs.
John Swinney argued on X that this financial rebuilding allowed the SNP to execute a well-resourced campaign for the Holyrood election. However, the reliance on staff cuts to achieve a surplus suggests a contraction of the party's operational capacity rather than organic growth.
The membership slide from 100 ,000 to 50,443
The SNP's financial surplus masks a worrying trend in its grassroots support, with membership falling to 50,443 by the end of June. This is a precipitous drop from the peak of over 100,000 members seen during Nicola Sturgeon's leadership, and a further decline from the 56,011 members recorded in 2024. despite this exodus, membership fees still contributed more than £1.7 million to the party's income last year.
This decline in membership echoes a broader struggle for the SNP to maintain its momentum following the legal scandals surrounding Peter Murrell and the transition in leadership. While the party's bank account may be healthier due to austerity measures, the loss of nearly half its membership base raises questions about the long-term viability of its current organizational model.
Unresolved questions regarding the Murrell recovery
Several critical points remain unverified or unanswered in the current disclosures. It is still unclear whether the SNP will legally offset the £60,000 loan owed to Peter Murrell against the £400,000 he embezzled, or if they will treat these as separate legal matters. Furthermore, the source does not clarify if any other party assets were misappropriated beyond the motorhome and the embezzled cash, nor does it provide a timeline for when the proceeds of crime hearing will actually result in recovered funds.
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