SNP's motley crew prepares to take Westminster by storm

A comedy club owner, an ex-motorcycle expedition leader and a politics student are just some of the 56 new Scottish nationalist MPs set to be sworn in at Britain's parliament this week.
 
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) increased its lawmakers ninefold in a stunning success at this month's election and is now the third-biggest party in the House of Commons, threatening to cause problems for Prime Minister David Cameron's conservative government.
 
Although some of them have unconventional backgrounds for politicians, the MPs, who swear their oaths from May 19, are united by a common drive to fight for more powers for Scotland and oppose planned new government austerity measures.
 
"The 56" arrived in London last May 11 on a plane rechristened "Gael Force One" for the day and headed straight for Westminster, stopping only to pose for the odd selfie in front of Big Ben.
 
Their euphoria was obvious as they gathered with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon for a group photo outside parliament later that day, with a giant Scottish flag carried by a supporter flying nearby.
 
The 36 men and 20 women "come from very diverse backgrounds", said Professor Murray Pittock of Glasgow University, author of "The Road To Independence".
 
He added that they were "quite strongly linked in many cases" to last year's referendum campaign for Scottish independence which, while defeated, has led to a surge in support for the SNP.
         
Two big names stand out among the group.
 
The first is Alex Salmond, the 60-year-old former SNP leader and figurehead who was previously a lawmaker at the Commons from 1987 to 2010.
 
Well known as an old-fashioned political bruiser, he was temporarily...