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The SNP group leader in the House of Commons has made it clear that he wants to be first minister
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It’s high time that a wider public got to know the latest in a pretty significant line of slippery SNP leaders. That characteristic is not exclusive to the nationalists, given that all the parties can provide perfectly decent examples. It’s just that among the Nats, such leaders tend to follow one another with hardly any intervening period.
In that category I give you the late Alex Salmond, followed by Nicola Sturgeon, followed by Humza Yousaf. Not exactly memorable for their ability, were they?
Step forward, then, Stephen Flynn, who is not a “real” leader in the accepted sense, being only in charge of the much-depleted, after July 4, SNP group in the House of Commons. John Swinney, the First Minister, remains in overall charge of the party – lock, stock, barrel and denizen of the Bute House official residence and as many limousines as he cares to order.
But as any member of any political party will tell you, without any hesitation, Mr Flynn wants Mr Swinney’s job. And the fact that the former didn’t firmly demur or deny that accusation in an incendiary weekend TV interview merely adds fuel to that belief.
That Flynn has the top job in his sights is undisputed. He got to first base by replacing Ian Blackford as the party’s Westminster leader two years ago and is now determined to “pass Go” in the SNP leadership game by, say both his friends and enemies, becoming a member of the Scottish Parliament. Only MSPs can become first ministers.
The fact that he isn’t one of the latter hasn’t cooled Flynn’s ardour one jot. He sees this as another mere detail to be sorted in his ever onwards climb up politics’ greasy pole.
He’s set his sights on winning the Aberdeen North and Kincardine North seat at Holyrood, even if there’s already an MSP for that constituency, who shows not the slightest inclination of making way for him.
However, displaying his usual bravado, the “mighty” Flynn reckons party members will back him to win the candidacy for the 2026 Holyrood election. In the meantime, he says he will stay as MP for Aberdeen South, even if this double-jobbing is strictly against SNP rules.
Needless to say, Flynn appears to reckon that’s merely another irritant to be sorted in his favour. And he reacts with a shrug to the idea that he won’t get his way.
He is distinctly vague about whether he’s had a heart-to-heart discussion with Mr Swinney about his plans to take Holyrood by storm, instead insisting that he wouldn’t divulge the details of their private conversation.
However, he was insistent – perhaps too insistent for this suspicious observer – that any challenge to Swinney’s leadership would be a long time coming, “in the dim and distant future” was how he put it.
I can’t be the only one who reckons that this Flynn offensive will not simply wither and die. If he doesn’t succeed in landing the Aberdeenshire seat that he’s after, then some other Holyrood constituency is certain to attract his attention.
And being a native of Dundee, could he be attracted to one of that city’s seats for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election?
There’s no doubt about his ambition – he’s exceedingly open about that – and while he’s not exactly popular with his colleagues at Holyrood, he has fans elsewhere in politics.
‘He’s a good operator. The SNP need him,’ said one opponent.
All of which leads this Nats watcher to wonder if there’s some kind of Blair-Brown-type pact between Swinney and Flynn that could see the latter succeeding, “by agreement” the former as leader after a certain period of time.
I know it may seem far-fetched, but stranger things have happened in politics.
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