The 2022 Scottish National Party (SNP) Westminster leadership election was held to choose the leader of the SNP in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, following the resignation of

Ian Blackford Ian Blackford (born 14 May 1961) is a Scottish politician and investment banker who served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and ...

on 1 December 2022.

Stephen Flynn Stephen Mark Flynn (born 13 October 1988) is a Scottish politician who has served as the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons since December 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South si ...

and

Alison Thewliss Alison Emily Thewliss (born 13 September 1982) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from the May 2015 general election until 2024. Before being elected to Westminster, Thewl ...

were the two MPs who ran in the election. Flynn was elected by 26 votes to 17.

Background

In June 2017, following the 2017 General Election, where the SNP went from 56 MPs to 35, Blackford was elected as leader of the SNP Westminster Group, succeeding

Angus Robertson Angus Struan Carolus Robertson (born 28 September 1969) is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Formerly Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 201 ...

who had lost his seat. He retained that position after the 2019 election where they regained ground, returning 48 MPs. In February 2021, following significant public controversy,

Joanna Cherry Joanna Catherine Cherry (born 18 March 1966) is a Scottish lawyer and former politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West (UK Parliament constituency), Edinburgh South West fr ...

, seen as an ally of

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

, was removed from Blackford's

frontbench team Frontbench Team is a political term used in the Westminster system of government. It is used to describe the senior leadership of opposition parliamentarians in the British House of Commons and the Dáil Éireann. United Kingdom Ireland * ...

due to unspecified "unacceptable behaviour, which did not meet the standards expected of a front bench spokesperson". In April 2021, a party staff member complained about Blackford's response to a sexual harassment allegation regarding SNP MP Patrick Grady. In June 2022, a recording emerged of Blackford encouraging SNP MPs to support Grady who had apologised and been suspended from the

for two days for his unwanted sexual advance to a junior SNP colleague in 2016. This comment was met with backlash from across the political spectrum and Blackford faced public calls to resign. On 17 November 2022, it was reported that

Flynn Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish Ó Floinn or possibly Mac Floinn, meaning "descendant or son of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname t ...

was to challenge Blackford for the leadership, which is determined annually at the AGM of the Westminster Group: Flynn denied any leadership ambition. On 23 November, the

UK Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for an independence referendum. Blackford announced his intention to stand down from the role on 1 December 2022. He denied being forced out by SNP MPs.

Candidates

Declined

The following SNP politicians were speculated as potential candidates for the leadership but declined to stand: *

Mhairi Black Mhairi Black (; born 12 September 1994) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 2022 to 2024, and as a Member of Parliament ( ...

, MP for

Paisley and Renfrewshire South Paisley and Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in Renfrewshire, Scotland to the southwest of Glasgow. It elects one member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system o ...

''(running for deputy leader)'' *

Alyn Smith Alyn Edward Smith (born 15 September 1973) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling from 2019 until 2024 when he unsuccessfully stood for the Stirling and ...

, MP for

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Endorsements

Thewliss

* Stuart McDonald, MP for

Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election, replacing Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and part of Strathkelvin and Bearsden. The seat ha ...

''(running for deputy leader)'' *

Pete Wishart Peter Wishart (born 9 March 1962) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and musician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and Kinross-shire since 2024. He previously served as the MP for Perth and North Perthshir ...

, MP for Perth and North Perthshire

Flynn

David Linden David Linden may refer to: * David Linden (politician) (born 1990), Scottish politician * David J. Linden (born 1961), American neuroscientist {{hndis, Linden, David ...

, MP for

Glasgow East Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

References

{{Scottish National Party SNP Westminster leadership election SNP Westminster leadership election SNP Westminster leadership election