SNP spent £5,400 on focus group in Matheson's seat
The firm, run by polling expert Mark Diffley, invoiced the party for £10,800 for focus groups in Falkirk and Hamilton, with £5,400 declared as an expense in the by-election.
copy of the invoice from the Diffley Partnership to the SNP (Image: NQ)
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Falkirk was one of the SNP's biggest losses at last year's general election, with Labour's Euan Stainbank overturning their majority of 14,948.
In the immediate aftermath of the vote, the party's candidate, Toni Giugliano, blamed both Mr Matheson and John Swinney.
The former minister was handed the longest ever suspension in Holyrood for accumulating a data roaming bill of £11,000 on his parliamentary iPad while on holiday in Morocco.
Holyrood's Standards Committee recommended the Falkirk West MSP be suspended for 27 days and for his salary to be withdrawn for 54 days — a financial penalty roughly equivalent to the size of the ex-health secretary's data roaming bill.
But the First Minister stunned MSPs when he said he would not back the ban. He claimed the probe into his 'friend and colleague' had been 'prejudiced'.
The SNP pushed through an amendment to the motion which criticised the process used to sanction Mr Matheson.
However, the party's 63 MSPs then abstained on the final vote on the amended motion. It was carried by 64 votes to zero after all four opposition parties supported it.
Mr Matheson announced in March this year that he would stand down at the next Holyrood election.
The Herald previously reported that he had initially intended to seek re-election but was persuaded to step aside following an intervention from the party leadership.
Falkirk is something of a bellwether for the SNP (Image: PA)
The city is something of a bellwether for the SNP.
At the 2021 election, Mr Matheson won with 54.3% of the vote, securing a majority of 14,149. That should make his constituency one of the SNP's safest.
The neighbouring constituency of Falkirk East is also set for a change, with incumbent Michelle Thomson standing down at the next election. She won 47% of the vote in 2021.
Losing either or both of these seats would be a serious blow to the party's hopes of holding off Labour in Central Scotland and keeping control of the Scottish Government.
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Falkirk has been particularly affected by the closure of the Grangemouth refinery and the decision of Alexander Dennis to relocate south of the Border.
All political parties hold focus groups in a bid to understand voters' thoughts, feelings and perspectives.
They normally involve around 10 people being asked to have a discussion about a range of topics.
An SNP spokesperson said: 'We regularly hold focus groups with people across the country as part of ensuring we are listening to people on the issues which matter most to them.'
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