Stephen Flynn | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons | |
| Assumed office 6 December 2022 | |
| Deputy | Mhairi Black Pete Wishart |
| Party Leader | Nicola Sturgeon Humza Yousaf John Swinney |
| Preceded by | Ian Blackford |
| SNP Spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in theHouse of Commons | |
| In office 1 February 2021 – 6 December 2022 | |
| Leader | Ian Blackford |
| Preceded by | Drew Hendry |
| Succeeded by | Alan Brown (Energy and Industrial Strategy) |
| Member of Parliament forAberdeen South | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ross Thomson |
| Majority | 3,758 (8.1%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Stephen Mark Flynn (1988-10-13)13 October 1988 (age 37) Dundee, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Spouse | Lynn Flynn |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Dundee |
Stephen Mark Flynn[1] (born 13 October 1988)[2] is a Scottish politician who has served as theScottish National Party (SNP)Member of Parliament (MP) forAberdeen South since2019.[3] Flynn has served as leader of the SNP in theHouse of Commons since December 2022, succeedingIan Blackford. His leadership was marked by the loss of 39 seats at the2024 general election, reducing the SNP to the second-largest party in Westminster from Scotland and the fourth-largest party in Parliament.[4]
Stephen Flynn was born on 13 October 1988 inDundee, and went to school inBrechin and Dundee. He studied at theUniversity of Dundee, graduating with anundergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) in history and politics, and aMaster of Letters (MLitt) degree in international politics and security studies.[5]
Flynn previously worked as an assistant toCallum McCaig and in the office ofMaureen Watt in Aberdeen.[6][7]
Flynn was first elected toAberdeen City Council for the Kincorth/Nigg/Cove Ward in 2015 and served as leader of the SNP group on Aberdeen City Council from 2016 till his election to Parliament in 2019.[8] Flynn resigned as a councillor on the grounds that he could not effectively serve on the council and as an MP at the same time, saying toThe Press and Journal, "I have also consistently stated that it is not practically possible to serve a full term in a parliament and dedicate time to be an effective local councillor."[9]
Flynn was elected to Parliament as MP forAberdeen South at the2019 general election with 45% of the vote and a majority of 3,990 votes.[10][11][12][13] Following his election, Flynn was appointed to the role of Shadow SNP Deputy Spokesperson (Treasury – Financial Secretary).[14] He was promoted to the front bench in February 2021 as Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).[14] Flynn was re-elected to Parliament as MP for Aberdeen South with a decreased vote share of 32.8% and a decreased majority of 3,758.[15][16]
Following the decision ofIan Blackford to stand down as the SNP Westminster Group Leader, Flynn announced his candidacy for the role, defeatingAlison Thewliss 26–17 in a vote of Scottish National Party MPs.[17][18][19][20] His appointment toHis Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council was announced on 28 March 2024 as part of the2024 Special Honours, thereby granting him thetitleThe Right Honourable for life.[21]
Flynn's leadership came at a time of acost of living crisis and when the United Kingdom'sSupreme Court set out that the Scottish Parliament does not have the devolved competence to hold anindependence referendum without the consent of the British Government.First MinisterNicola Sturgeon had set out plans for the next election to the House of Commons to be a proxy referendum on independence, putting the Frontbench Team at the centre of a constitutional campaign within Scotland.
In February 2024, Flynn was highly critical of the role of the speaker of the House of CommonsLindsay Hoyle during a parliamentary debate on aGaza ceasefire motion.[22] Flynn stated that "he and his party has been treated with utter contempt and would need "significant convincing" that the Speaker's position was "not now intolerable".[23] The SNP motion was criticised by, amongst others,David Lammy, who stated that "The SNP motion appears one sided. For any ceasefire to work, it must, by necessity, be observed by both sides, or it is not a ceasefire...Israelis have the right to the assurance thatthe horror of 7 October cannot happen again."[24]
In the2024 general election, the SNP suffered huge losses losing the vast majority of their seats.[25] The SNP became the second largest party in the UK Parliament representing Scottish seats, having won 9 seats, losing a total of 39 seats across Scotland.[26] Across the United Kingdom, the results saw aLabour Party landslide victory, and similarly in Scotland,Scottish Labour became the largest party representing Scottish constituencies at Westminster.[27]
As a result, Flynn unveiled a new much slimmed down frontbench including himself,Pete Wishart as his deputy andKirsty Blackman as chief whip.[28]
On 23 July 2024, theLabour Partywithdrew the whip from 7 of itsMPs who had supported an amendment tabled by Flynn to scrap thetwo child benefit cap.[29] Flynn stated that scrapping the cap would immediately raise 300,000 children out of poverty. MPs rejected the SNP amendment by 363 votes to 103.[30] The seven Labour MPs suspended for six months wereJohn McDonnell,Richard Burgon,Ian Byrne,Rebecca Long-Bailey,Imran Hussain,Apsana Begum andZarah Sultana, four of whom (Burgon, Byrne, Long-Bailey, and Hussain) had the whip restored in February 2025. McDonnell and Begum had the whip restored in September 2025, however Sultana had resigned from the party earlier that year in July.
In November 2024, Flynn announced that he intended to stand as the SNP candidate forAberdeen South and North Kincardine for the2026 Scottish Parliament election, whilst remaining as the MP forAberdeen South in Westminster.[31][32] Flynn's plan to potentially hold adual mandate - known as double jobbing in British politics - sparked significant controversy: SNP party rules introduced prior to the2021 Holyrood election require SNP MPs to resign their seat at Westminster before seeking selection to Holyrood. The SNP had previously criticisedScottish Conservative leaderDouglas Ross for simultaneously holding Westminster and Holyrood seats. Flynn claimed the party rules were "election-specific".[31]
Flynn's announcement faced backlash from within the SNP and opposition parties. Former SNP MPJoanna Cherry, who abandoned a selection bid for Holyrood in 2020 owing to the change in rules, sarcastically remarked in a post onTwitter that the rule was "person-specific" and predicted that, having "served its purpose", it would not be in place for the next Holyrood election.[31] Former SNP MinisterGeorge Adam and SNP MSPEmma Roddick also criticised Flynn's decision, while incumbent MSPAudrey Nicoll reaffirmed her intent to run.[33] Emma Roddick's criticism was met with negative press briefing by an unnamed SNP source to theDaily Mail, which described her as "a rubbish MSP who has achieved nothing and has everything to lose from a more talented class of SNP politicians coming through to shake up Holyrood and inject a bit of imagination and life where lazy MSPs like her have so badly failed." This prompted calls for unity from the SNP Social Justice SecretaryShirley-Anne Somerville.[34] The First Minister,John Swinney, said that the SNP had yet to come to a decision on whether its politicians could double job, but remarked that "We've had times in the past when we've had dual mandates - I had a dual mandate myself for two years in the early days of devolution", and would make a decision "in the fullness of time".[35][36] Critics, including the Scottish Conservatives and Labour, accused Flynn of hypocrisy and supported motions to ban double jobbing.[31][37][38][39][40] Flynn abandoned his plan on 21 November 2024, stating he would not pursue a dual mandate.[41]
On 1 April 2025, Flynn confirmed that he planned to stand for the SNP in the 2026 Holyrood election, saying that he was "delighted to have been nominated by SNP members across Aberdeen South and North Kincardine" to stand as a candidate.[42]
In February 2025, internal SNP sources accused Flynn of running a "boys' brigade" in Westminster amid reports that he had identified a group of all-female SNP MSPs he wanted to stand down from the Scottish Parliament to make room for ex-MPs who had lost their seats in the 2024 general election. The alleged "hit list", which includedCollette Stevenson,Jackie Dunbar,Emma Roddick,Evelyn Tweed, andKaren Adam, was reported to have been drawn up at Flynn's direction byAberdeenshire North and Moray East MPSeamus Logan. A spokesperson for Flynn dismissed the allegations, saying the report was "total nonsense and entirely untrue". An SNP source toldThe National; "I don't think it's nonsense. I'm not surprised by the news story, by the list, by it being only women. That is the feeling that I have had throughout, with the whole Tuesday boys' club, the way that the party in Westminster is run."[43]
In September 2025, Flynn branded the controversy surroundingPeter Mandelson's sacking asBritish Ambassador to the United States amid controversy surrounding his ties to sex offenderJeffrey Epstein a “complete disgrace”, before highlighting that the Prime Minister’s position appeared to be that maintaining a relationship with Epstein was acceptable, but believing he was not guilty – as Mandelson suggested he thought – was not. Flynn concluded by saying that, as Westminster is going into recess, Starmer may hope that the scandal around Epstein will “go away”, but that “I and every other member who's sitting in this House right now can assure him that it is not”:[44]
Flynn has repeatedly demanded to know what Starmer knew about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein and when he knew it. He accused Starmer of ignoring "facts that were plainly in front of him not for weeks, not for hours, not for days but for months" and specifically criticized Starmer for appointing Mandelson as ambassador "knowing that that man had maintained a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein" after his 2008 conviction. After Starmer failed to attend the emergency debate on the scandal, Flynn accused the Prime Minister of "going into hiding" and suggested that while the Labour government has lurched from "one crisis to another," the "only constant in all this chaos is Keir Starmer himself". Beyond Mandelson's sacking, the SNP has demanded further action. An Early Day Motion was lodged by SNP MPBrendan O'Hara, with Flynn's support, urging Starmer to strip Mandelson of his peerage and permanently remove him from the public payroll. Flynn has joined the calls for all government documents relating to the appointment and vetting to be published.[45]
Flynn is married to Lynn Flynn with two children, and is aDundee United FC supporter.[46] His fatherMark Flynn is aDundee City councillor who was elected as leader of the council in August 2024.[47]
Flynn has suffered from a serious condition calledavascular necrosis since his teens and underwent a hip replacement for it in 2020.[48] In 2023, he toldThe News Agents "I was disabled" before the operation, and had walked with a crutch for eighteen years, which led to him reading more as a child.[49]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forAberdeen South 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theScottish National Party in theHouse of Commons 2022–present | Incumbent |
