Stephen Flynn will have to stand down from Westminster to stand for Holyrood, an SNP minister has suggested.
Jamie Hepburn told the Scottish Parliament today that “anyone seeking” election to Holyrood would be banned from doing so while they are an MP.
This would mean that SNP Westminster leader Flynn would need to stand down from the House of Commons before running for the Scottish Parliament.
Hepburn said during a Scottish Parliament debate on a bill to ban double jobbing: “On Saturday just past the executive committee of my party took a decision to put in place as part of its selection rules, a prohibition on anyone seeking to hold elected office to this place to be able to do so whilst simultaneously remaining elected to the House of Commons.
“That was the position it took at the 2021 election, it’s one it’s taken for the forthcoming election.”
Flynn sparked backlash when he said he planned to serve as an MP and an MSP at the same time. He has since rolled back on that decision and said he would not have a dual mandate.
But it was not clear if he would be able to remain an as the MP for Aberdeen South while running for Holyrood. This would have given him the safety net of a Westminster seat if he did not win a Scottish Parliament seat in 2026.
Flynn and the SNP have been approached for comment.
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