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THERE’S been a bit of a stooshie over SNP depute leader Keith Brown suggesting the party should consider withdrawing MPs from Westminster.

The idea was part of a longer comment piece from the MSP published in the Sunday National examining the fall-out from the debacle of the SNP’s debate on Gaza.

Brown argued that the “denial of democracy” at Westminster is becoming so great that it’s time for the SNP to look at taking action after the next General Election– an idea he previously was against.

It’s certainly not the first time this has been suggested – and you don’t have to go far back to find other examples.

READ MORE: It’s time to re-examine case for withdrawing from Westminster

In October last year, SNP MP Douglas Chapman said a Westminster withdrawal should be considered in the face of the rejection of the mandate for another independence referendum.

He wrote that it isn’t just about “forming an eye-catching conga” and “hitting some ­headlines”, but would have “a strong, clear, and far wider purpose and would need to be followed up by a national assembly or similar convention in our ­capital city."

Meanwhile a month earlier SNP MSP Jim Fairlie proposed that a proportion of the party’s elected MPs abstain from Westminster as a means of bringing the UK Government to the negotiating table after a General Election.

But the reaction to Brown’s comments from SNP leader Humza Yousaf was to firmly reject the idea, saying the party's MPs would "stand up for Scotland" and "advance the case for independence" if elected.

In a General Election year, it’s clear he sees it as too risky a move to begin suggesting that MPs would not participate in Westminster if elected.

The National:

Indeed opposition politicians quickly seized upon Brown’s comments to suggest voters will be left “voiceless” at Westminster if they back the SNP.

But there is the question of what steps the SNP takes next if it does win a majority of seats at the General Election.

Yousaf has set out a plan which includes beginning negotiations with the UK Government on independence and establishing Constitutional Convention.

But if Labour's Keir Starmer wins a thumping majority at Westminster the chances are it will be met with a blank no.

So perhaps the SNP will consider tactics such as withdrawing MPs from Westminster after the next General Election.

READ MORE: SNP's proposed new General Election logos and ballot names published

But to borrow a well-worn phrase from the Unionist side, it appears that “now is not the time” to be putting that idea in the minds of voters.

Meanwhile the issue of when exactly the General Election will take place is still rumbling on.

In January Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has the power to decide the date, said: "My working assumption is we'll have a general election in the second half of this year."

But reports have emerged this week of growing speculation that May is the Tories' preferred date.

However much of this appears to be coming from Labour, no doubt keen to ramp up the pressure on Sunak in the wake of recent by-election defeats.

The Spring Budget and Sunak’s flagship bill on sending asylum seekers to Rwanda progressing through Parliament are being given as reasons why the Tories may go for an earlier day.

Asked on Times Radio on Tuesday morning if a vote would be taking place in May, Conservative trade minister Greg Hands simply said "no".

So we can expect an announcement any day soon, then?

Visit our interactive map for a seat-by-seat guide to the General Election