Stephen Flynn’s double jobbing plan is at risk after Scottish Labour threw their weight behind a Holyrood ban. Labour and the Greens will vote for a ban that would stop the SNP Westminster leader from serving in both parliaments.
Party MSP Martin Whitfield said: “The public deserve real representation in each of their parliaments and Scottish Labour will back plans to end double-jobbing.”
Flynn has suffered a major backlash from inside the SNP over plans to seek a “dual mandate”. He wants to contest the selection for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine for Holyrood in 2026 while staying on as MP.
Tory MSP Graham Simpson plans to table an amendment to a Holyrood elections bill that would clamp down on double jobbing. The proposal would require an MP who is elected to Holyrood to stand down from Westminster within eight days.
Labour’s support for the Simpson amendment is a huge leap forward for backers of a ban. Whitfield said: “Being an MP or an MSP is a full-time job and it is the height of arrogance to try and do both. Whether it’s Douglas Ross or Stephen Flynn, Tory and SNP politicians have been taking their constituents for granted for too long.”
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay said her party is also in favour of a ban: “The Scottish Greens support ending dual mandates between Holyrood and Westminster. This isn’t about individuals, it is about recognising the importance of our parliament and the work it does. This has gone on for too long. Other devolved parliaments have rules in place to stop it, and Holyrood should too.”
Lib Dems MSPs will discuss the proposal before reaching a decision.
Despite Simpson being a Tory MSP, his party has not made a decision on whether to support the amendment. A spokesperson for the Scottish Tories said: “We will consider any amendments when they come forward.”
A Holyrood source said the vote could take place before Christmas and would apply to the 2026 election.
Simpson had pulled back from tabling his amendment earlier this month when the SNP Government offered a consultation and a possible ban after the 2026 election. But within days Flynn announced his 2026 double jobbing plan and Simpson was suspicious of the timing.
He told the Record: “Stephen Flynn has helped me to make up my mind on this. Being an MSP is a full time job and anyone lucky enough to have the honour of being elected to the Scottish Parliament should be doing so on that basis. It is wrong that anyone should be able to sit as an MSP and MP at the same time. So-called dual mandate has been banned in Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland is an outlier in this and we should end that. Given the outcry over what Stephen Flynn plans to do, I will be re-tabling my amendments to the elections bill which will ban double jobbing. All parties must do the right thing and back this.”
The SNP curbed dual mandates ahead of the 2021 election but there is speculation the rule will not apply to 2026 in order to help Flynn. The SNP Government is committed to “consultation”.
Flynn’s double jobbing plan would require him to elbow sitting MSP Audrey Nicoll out of the way. SNP MSPs are sympathetic to the situation she finds herself in and are unhappy with Flynn, who is said to want to replace John Swinney as leader.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Minister for Parliamentary Business wrote to the Standards Committee on 31 October to say the Scottish Government was supportive of consideration being given to the issue of dual mandates however noted proper consultation or evidence had not been taken on the issue in relation to the Scottish Elections Bill. Therefore he committed to carry out a full public consultation on the issue to seek the views of political parties, COSLA and importantly the public.”
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