SNP MP Stephen Flynn has caused quite a stink after announcing that he wishes to stand for the Scottish Parliament and to retain his seat in Westminster if successful. It came as a surprise to some but not to me.
I tabled a series of amendments to the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill currently going through parliament which would ban this practice.
The minister handling the bill, Jamie Hepburn wrote to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee which dealt with the bill at stage 2 saying he wished to have a consultation on so-called dual mandates and that any legislation would not happen until after the next Scottish Parliament election in 2026. Some of us smelled a rat and put two and two together and came with up with the answer – Stephen Flynn.
At stage 2 I did not put my amendments to a vote. I would have lost but then Mr Flynn did us all a favour by showing his hand. In doing so he showed the minister’s letter up for what it was – an attempt to distract and throw people off the scent.
If Mr Flynn and I took a walk through the streets of Aberdeen and asked some of his constituents if you should be able to sit as an MSP at the same time the answer would be no. Legislation already exists in Wales and Northern Ireland which bars members of their parliaments from sitting in Westminster at the same time. Quite right too. Why should we be any different?
The Scottish Parliament should be given the opportunity to end this nonsense ahead of 2026 and I will give it that chance. I will re-table my amendments on this so that parties can do the right thing and show that MSPs think the practice of double jobbing is no longer acceptable.
Graham Simpson is an MSP for Central Scotland.