New SNP MP vows to 'serve the people' after Commons oath row

When is an oath, not an oath? And who decides whether a Scottish accent is 'real' or not?

After every election, before taking their seats in the House of Commons, new MPs are required by law to swear to God, or simply affirm, that they will be "be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law".

On Monday - while most of Westminster's attention was on Andy Burnham - the SNP's Lara Bird appeared to have her fingers crossed as she held up her right hand and took the oath.

She also began it by saying: "I take this oath only so that I can serve the people of Arbroath & Broughty Ferry."

Bird, who won the Arbroath & Broughty Ferry by-election last week, has drawn some criticism and comment online mostly, it should be acknowledged, from political opponents on the right.

The former Conservative MP Bob Seeley posted on X that it was "an act of childish petulance".

He added: "If you don't want to serve in a UK Parliament, don't. But don't make a fool of yourself doing so."

And the former deputy leader of Reform UK used the same platform to accuse Bird of "contempt for Parliament. Contempt for her office. Contempt for the constitution."

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley show, Bird confirmed she did indeed cross her fingers.

"It's about making clear that I've been sent here by my constituents who elected me to represent them," she said.

"I'm loyal to them and I want to show my allegiance to them and I don't think it's particularly democratic in this day and age to have to swear your allegiance to the King to come and represent the folk who elected you.

"And that was just a demonstration that my loyalty will always be to the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry."

On the same programme, her fellow new Scottish MP, the Conservative Douglas Lumsden, who won a by-election in Aberdeen South, called the move "disrespectful".

But Bird's stance is by no means new - there's a long tradition of qualifying the oath.

The veteran Labour MP Tony Benn made his oath after the 1992 general election "as a committed republican".

At Holyrood, the pledge of allegiance is also a legal requirement, but MSPs have chosen to qualify it since the start of the Scottish Parliament by saying their true allegiance is to the people of Scotland.

These include the former Scottish Socialist leader Tommy Sheridan, a committed republican, and late SNP leader Alex Salmond, who had a bit more time for the royals.

Bird's oath has drawn attention for another reason too - her accent.

In a post on X that's been viewed more than a million times, footage of the oath is contrasted with a video from before Bird's election as an MP.

It accuses her of putting on a "fake Scottish accent".

One of those to repost the videos was the comedian and impressionist Matt Forde.

He wrote: "There's only room for one English person doing dodgy Scottish accents in the political arena. This is an attack on my business model."

Bird was also asked about this on the Matt Chorley show.

With a hint of sarcasm she said that she was "flattered" by the level of interest in her voice in the same week that the prime minister announced his resignation.

She told the programme: "You know, my mum's English, my dad's Scottish.

"I grew up in Angus, outside of Kirriemuir. But I lived in London for a few years and picked up a bit of an accent.

"And, you, know, that comes out a wee bit stronger when I'm in England and the Scottish accent comes up a wee bit stronger, when I am back home."

Even before her election victory, Bird was drawing comment online over her family background, her education, how she dresses and the fact that she doesn't use her full legal name - Pyla Lara Bird-Leakey.

This was something she addressed in an interview with the Courier newspaper.

She explained: "My parents got divorced when I was very young and they weren't married when I was born, which is why I ended up having both names.

"My mum was Leakey and I had quite a difficult relationship with her and it was quite a difficult divorce - so even though my legal name is Bird-Leakey, that's not a name I've ever used really."

For what it's worth, having dealt with Bird in a previous role as an SNP press officer, she sounds the same now as she did then.

The MP herself says she looks forward to dealing with questions about politics, rather than pronunciation.