LONDON — Scottish National Party MPs picked Stephen Flynn as their new leader in Westminster Tuesday evening — in a move seen by some as a blow to Nicola Sturgeon’s authority.
In a vote among the pro-Scottish independence SNP’s Westminster contingent of lawmakers, Flynn defeated Glasgow MP Alison Thewliss — seen as being close to Scottish First Minister Sturgeon — by 26 votes to 17. The 28-year-old rising star Mhairi Black will serve as his deputy leader.
“Under my leadership, SNP MPs will be relentlessly focused on standing up for Scotland’s interests and our democratic right to decide our future in an independence referendum,” Flynn said.
Though only elected in 2019, Flynn’s profile grew among the SNP base thanks to his combative interventions in the House of Commons and a high-profile appearance on the BBC’s flagship Question Time program.
The post became vacant following Ian Blackford’s resignation last week.
Blackford had been under pressure amid persistent reports of infighting within the SNP’s grouping of MPs in Westminster, as first reported by POLITICO in March.
As rumors swirled about a challenge to Blackford, Flynn was forced to deny a report in the Times newspaper that he was preparing to stand for the leadership.
Two weeks later, Flynn had, according to an ally, enough support to demonstrate to Blackford that he had lost the confidence of a majority of MPs.
Blackford resigned and will take on a new role as a business ambassador for the independence cause. The former leader denies he was forced out by his own MPs.
Flynn’s victory is already being view by some in SNP circles as a dent to Sturgeon and her strategy to secure a new referendum on Scotland breaking away from the rest of the U.K. Sturgeon has said her party will use the next U.K. general election as a de-facto referendum on Scottish independence after the U.K.’s top court ruled that her government could not hold an official vote on the issue without the consent of the government in Westminster.
Sturgeon’s plan is not universally popular within the SNP, particularly among some MPs who fear they could lose their seats in the next election.
Though Flynn has not publicly criticized Sturgeon over the ploy, he is seen by his supporters as someone prepared to stress the Westminster group of SNP MPs’ autonomy from Sturgeon’s leadership up in Edinburgh.
“Congratulations to new SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and deputy leader Mhairi Black — a truly formidable team. Looking forward to working with them both,” Sturgeon tweeted.
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