SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn told his colleague he planned to take her job just hours before announcing it to the public.
Aberdeen South MP Flynn, who has been tipped as a future SNP leader, unveiled he was seeking to stand for Aberdeen South & North Kincardine at the next Holyrood elections.
It would mean ousting current SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll as the party’s candidate if Flynn was to succeed in running for the seat.
Sources close to Nicoll said Flynn contacted her last Sunday evening to tell her of his plans and claimed he pressured her to stand aside – a claim Flynn’s spokesman has denied.
One senior party insider said: “He made it clear he expected her to step aside and that it was a done deal.
“Clearly he expected she would stand down for him so I think he was taken aback that she said no.
“He must have rang Audrey right before he submitted himself for the candidacy as it would probably have been sent to her for review at that stage.
“He’d also presumably already given his exclusive interview on the subject by the time he rang her so clearly he didn’t care what she thought or what she had to say about the matter.”
Flynn’s plans were revealed in a front page article in a local Aberdeenshire newspaper on Monday morning.
It is not the first time the SNP Westminster leader has tried to muscle in on a colleague’s position, having plotted against former Westminster leader Ian Blackford in 2022 before taking his job.
Flynn and a group of loyal party colleagues known as the ‘Tuesday Club’ – due to their frequent meetings on a Tuesday for five a side football and takeaways – hatched a plan to remove Blackford as the party’s Westminster spokesman in December 2022.
Blackford later told the Sunday Mail the group wanted more independence from Holyrood and the SNP leadership and were annoyed about perceived meddling from Nicola Sturgeon and her cabinet.
Flynn repeatedly denied he was plotting against Blackford and said he only decided to go for the top job when Blackford abruptly announced he was resigning.
An SNP spokesman said the claims Flynn asked Nicoll to stand aside were “completely false” and said: “It reflects poorly on those fabricating lies to attack their colleagues.
“SNP members, and voters, expect better.
“All SNP members are entitled to put themselves forward for selection – that’s democracy.
“Stephen Flynn did the respectful thing by letting Audrey Nicoll know, in advance, that he intends to put himself forward. At no point did he ask, or expect, her to stand aside.
“Stephen looks forward to a positive selection campaign – and ultimately it will be for local members to choose their candidate. Those using underhand tactics to attack colleagues, and undermine the selection process, are doing a disservice to the whole party.”
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