PARTIES like Labour have a tendency to sit on the sideline ... but the SNP's dramatic walk-out at Prime Minister's Questions today has paid off.

Have a search on Twitter for "joining", "SNP" and you'll see a remarkable amount of people saying they've signed up in the wake of the power grab.

There's been a surge in membership as Scots show their outrage at just 15 minutes being given over to debate the effect of the EU Withdrawal Bill on devolution.

And the SNP have now confirmed that more than 1100 members joined since midday yesterday (rather than today).

Over 1100 people have already joined @theSNP today in response to the Conservative Party’s treatment of Scotland in Westminster last night. They’ve reached the conclusion that only the SNP stands up for Scotland. If you agree, you can join here: https://t.co/lpLCpOHwCK — Richard Lochhead (@RichardLochhead) June 13, 2018

During Prime Minister's Questions, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford used an archaic Westminster procedure to call for a vote on the House sitting in private.

He was protesting at the lack of debate the night before. Labour had abstained on that vote and the Tories filibustered so no Scottish MP could speak in the extremely limited time.

The move was a smart irony, with those archaic Commons traditions having wasted so much time yesterday.

But Bercow used his "discretion" to refuse the vote, saying they could hold it after PMQs instead.

We collated some of the messages people posted saying they'd joined the SNP since last night – you can see those by clicking here.

That's just a tiny sample compared to what's out there just now. The protest has inspired a huge reaction – standing up for Scotland is what people want.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown told a Holyrood debate on the Growth Commission’s report: “It might interest you to know that just this afternoon the SNP has attracted 1000 new members... that says to me people in Scotland have seen the way Westminster fails to, and can never properly take account of the views of the people of Scotland.”

Danni Nicolson, a SNP activist in Inverness, tweeted: “Pleased to welcome my friend @ryrae as a new member to the @theSNP tonight. After witnessing the shambolic show of disrespect for Scotland by the Tories tonight, he says he knows who has Scotland’s best interests at heart. A previous NO voter in 2014 now switched to YES.”

Coinneach MacLeod posted: “In support of #snpwalkout & the undemocratic strategies of this Tory Government, I have joined the @theSNP to support them in our drive to an independent Scotland.”

