Stephen Flynn aims to stand for SNP at Holyrood election

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn intends to stand at the 2026 Holyrood elections, he has announced.

The Aberdeen South MP said if elected to the Scottish Parliament he would aim to hold his Westminster seat until the next general election, due in 2029, but would not accept two salaries.

The announcement has prompted concerns among party colleagues, with one MSP urging him to rethink his decision.

Applications to stand as an SNP candidate in 2026 closed on Monday, though the formal selection process will not start until next year.

BBC Scotland News understands that former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf have submitted applications, but are both yet to decide on whether to stand for re-election.

Flynn, writing in the Press and Journal, said he hoped to win his party’s nomination for the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine seat, currently held by Audrey Nicoll.

The SNP Westminster leader added: “I don’t want to sit out the upcoming battles that our city, shire and country face in Holyrood.”

He also said he hoped to help the SNP build the case for independence.

Flynn told the Press and Journal it would not “fill him with any great delight” to go up against Nicoll for selection in Aberdeen South and North Kincardine.

Nicoll, who was first elected to parliament at the 2021 election, said: “As a constituency MSP, my focus will remain to work tirelessly for constituents regardless of any internal party selection processes.

“I look forward to any contest, where of course it will be for branch members to select those they wish to represent them in Holyrood in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.”

Ahead of the 2021 election, the SNP changed internal rules to require MPs to resign their seat at Westminster to fight for selection to Holyrood.

The party also previously criticised former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross for holding seats at Westminster and Holyrood, as well as being a professional football referee, branding him “three jobs”.

In 2021, SNP MSP Karen Adam claimed Ross was “failing” his constituents “by thinking he can do both jobs properly”.

Flynn said he believed selection rules were “election-specific”.

In his column, he pointed to examples of SNP politicians who have held seats in both parliaments before, citing First Minister John Swinney and ex-First Minister Alex Salmond.

SNP MSP Emma Roddick said she hoped Flynn “rethinks” his ambition to hold two seats seats.

She posted on X: “Party members set this rule for good reasons. Rightly, Douglas Ross was criticised for holding two roles simultaneously.”

The Highlands and Islands representative said she could not imagine “being a good MSP” while spending “half” her time in London.

She added: “(It is) Key that rules apply to everyone equally; men and women.”

One former SNP MP told BBC Scotland News: “I’m not sure being seen to do Audrey Nicoll out of her job so that he can have two jobs is a smart pitch.”

Another senior party figure described Flynn’s move as “naked ambition”.

Dozens of MSPs have had a dual mandate, either as a member of the House of Lords, the House of Commons or as a councillor – including 20 this term.

Roddick, who was elected to Holyrood in 2021, held a dual mandate for a year while also serving as an Inverness councillor.

The party is yet to decide what its rules will be for candidates at the next election.

The change on dual mandates led to then-MP Joanna Cherry pulling out of the selection contest for the Edinburgh Central seat.

Health Secretary Neil Gray also had to resign as an MP before being elected to Holyrood in 2021.

Cherry – who lost her Westminster seat in July’s general election and has ruled out a bid for election to Holyrood in 2026 – said the SNP rule against dual mandates was “person specific”.

Responding to Flynn’s column, she added in a post on X that the rule “served its purpose” and predicted it would not be in place for 2026.

The Scottish government recently said it intended to launch a consultation on proposals to ban MSPs from holding dual mandates, though any changes are not expected to be introduced in time for the 2026 election.

Flynn has been tipped as a future SNP leader, but he predicted there would not be a contest to replace Swinney for “very many years”, adding that he had full confidence in the first minister.

He told the Press and Journal: “Of course I want to do everything I possibly can to help my party and help my country and that will never change.”

Few who follow Scottish politics will be surprised by Stephen Flynn’s decision.

He’s widely regarded as one of the SNP’s most talented politicians. And Holyrood offers opportunities for him that Westminster never will (such as being a government minister or – one day perhaps – first minister).

But this is a controversial move in a number of ways.

Even though other SNP politicians have sat previously at Westminster and Holyrood simultaneously, party rhetoric on “double jobbing” has hardened in recent years.

The party previously claimed former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross was trying to “have his cake and eat it” by sitting in both parliaments.

Flynn will now face the same accusation.

Secondly, there’s already a sitting SNP MSP in the seat where Stephen Flynn aims to be a candidate. And she has not indicated that she plans to stand down. So it looks like an internal challenge is on.

To sum it up, this is an expected move with some unexpected elements.

Former SNP MP Richard Thomson, who lost his seat in Gordon in July, has also confirmed he is seeking election to Holyrood in 2026.

He has not specified a constituency, though he posted on X that there was “important work to be done for the north east and Scotland as a whole”.

While being selected to stand in a constituency is one potential route to the Scottish Parliament, candidates can also win a seat via regional lists under the Holyrood voting system.