Two Scottish politicians have spoken out about the existential threats to their careers from their own political party for cleaving to their Christian principles.

Dr. Lisa Cameron, a Scottish Member of Parliament (MP) faced deselection for her vote against legalising abortion in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, an SNP councillor, Chris McEleny of Inverclyde, has claimed party bosses told him to “curtail” his Catholicism if he wanted to be a parliamentary candidate, a claim deny by the Scottish National Party.

Ms Cameron, a clinical psychologist and devout Christian, was one of just two SNP MPs to vote against lifting Northern Ireland’s abortion ban in Britain’s House of Commons in July. After that vote, she said, “the local activists and officials who vet and select candidates said I wasn’t suitable to be an MP for the party because of my views. There were two calls to stand down from my position from local officials”.

Until Saturday, she was the SNP’s only sitting member of the Westminster Parliament not to have been approved as a candidate for the forthcoming general election.