Another day, another SNP drama. This morning the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn announced he will stand as a candidate in the 2026 Holyrood election in an op-ed written for the Press & Journal. ‘I’m chucking my bonnet in the ring,’ Flynn wrote jubilantly, adding that if successful in the race to secure an MSP seat, he would remain an MP until the next general election. ‘I will not shirk from these responsibilities as an MP and, if elected to Holyrood, I do not intend to leave them behind until the next general election.’ Talk about having your cake and eating it, eh?
It seems not everyone is thrilled by Flynn’s proposal, however – least of all some of own party members. The Nats were always quick to criticise former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross for working between London and Edinburgh as both an MP and an MSP – and so Flynn’s decision leaves the separatists in a rather sticky spot. While current SNP MSP for the seat of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine Audrey Nicoll has insisted to the Herald she will contest Flynn for the seat, nationalist MSP Emma Roddick has taken to social media today to lament the Westminster leader’s move, writing:
Party members set this rule for good reasons. Rightly, Douglas Ross was criticised for holding two role simultaneously. I hope Stephen Flynn rethinks.
Mr S is rather interested in how exactly Flynn plans to get away with this. Currently, party rules would prevent sitting MPs from standing as MSPs, although the Herald hears that this dual mandate rule is set at each election individually – so would need to be reinstated rather than removed. Ex-SNP MP Angus MacNeil fumed to Steerpike about the ‘vicious aims’ of the party’s national executive committee in 2021, claiming:
At the last Scottish election the SNP hierarchy actively changed the rules to stop [MPs standing for Holyrood]. It was seen by many as another vindictive Nicola Sturgeon swipe – that time against Joanna Cherry.
Cherry has echoed that sentiment herself, tweeting today: ‘The rule against dual mandates introduced by the NEC in 2021 was not ‘election specific’, it was person specific. It served its purpose and I predict it will be removed.’ Not like the SNP to scheme against each other, eh?
On this note, former health secretary Alex Neil told Mr S:
I can understand why Stephen wants to relocate to Holyrood, but if he does so he has to stand down as an MP. The SNP cannot legitimately criticise people like Douglas Ross for holding down two full-time jobs simultaneously as an MP and MSP and then allow our own parliamentarians to do the same. The party would look ridiculous if it allowed that to happen.
It would also be very unfair to those like Neil Gray and Joanna Cherry, who also wanted to come to Holyrood in 2021, but had to follow the rules laid down by the party. As a result, Joanna reluctantly decided to stay on at Westminster. The SNP’s rules apply equally to all party members, not just to the party’s elite.
Strong stuff.
A number of SNP figures have confided to Steerpike that they believe the next SNP leadership race will come down to a contest between Flynn and the current Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes – with both camps thought to be seriously considering campaign efforts. Rather interestingly, Flynn has insisted to the Press & Journal that ‘I don’t think the SNP is going to have a leadership contest for very many years’. How curious. Is he bluffing, does he have a coronation plan instead or has he changed his mind about the top job altogether? Stay tuned…
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