2 weeks Ago By Dale Miller
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has confirmed he will stand in the Scottish Parliament election in 2026 in a decision that has fuelled speculation over a future leadership bid. The Aberdeen South MP confirmed he had submitted his name for potential election to Holyrood in two years’ time ahead of Monday’s official deadline. Mr Flynn told the Press & Journal : “It’s never an easy decision to put yourself forward for election.
You have to discuss things with friends and family. “I took some time to properly think things over because there was a high degree of interest in what I was going to do or not do next. “I came to the conclusion I don’t want to sit it out.
I don’t want to sit out those battles that are coming for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the wider nation.” Asked if he would seek to lead the SNP in the future, Mr Flynn did not rule out the prospect. However, he backed John Swinney as remaining First Minister well beyond 2024.
“I don’t think the SNP is going to have a leadership contest for very many years,” Mr Flynn said. “I’m fully confident in the manner in which John Swinney is rebuilding the party and refocusing government. I appreciate the desire that many people have to speculate in and around what my ambitions are or aren’t.
“Of course I want to do everything I possibly can to help my party and help my country and that will never change.” Mr Flynn confirmed he intended to remain an MP until the next general election, despite trying to win a Holyrood seat. The SNP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) ruled in 2020 that party politicians must resign their seats at Westminster to become candidates for the 2021 Scottish election.
That decision ruled former SNP MP Joanna Cherry out of a Holyrood bid at that time. But the rules for the 2026 vote are yet to be decided by the NEC, meaning Mr Flynn can be in the running to hold two seats - at least for now. Mr Flynn said it “didn’t fill him with any great delight” to go up against sitting MSP Audrey Nicoll for selection to the constituency.
He said he believed party rules were “election-specific”. “I will not take a second parliamentary income,” Mr Flynn wrote. “This is personal for me, it’s about Scotland’s future, and that is much more valuable than any salary on offer.
“Nevertheless, I’m not blind to the fact that I will have to box smarter and work even harder. Others have done it in the past, not least Alex Salmond and John Swinney, and I’m positive about the prospect of walking the path they previously trod. “Finally, I also hope not to be alone on a potential path to Holyrood.
Some of my current and former colleagues in Westminster, as well as many outwith the world of politics, will hopefully be aiming for elected office in Edinburgh. And that can only be a good thing.” Former Aberdeenshire Council leader and ex-Gordon MP Richard Thomson, who lost his seat to the Conservatives at the July general election, has also applied to be considered for Holyrood in 2026.
represented the constituency from 2019 to 2024, told the P&J he applied to be considered for 2026. He does not have a particular seat in mind, but lives in the north-east and was previously the leader of Aberdeenshire Council..
