Stephen Flynn

Stephen Mark Flynn (born 13 October 1988) is a Scottish politician who has served as the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons since December 2022.

Flynn was first elected to Aberdeen City Council for the Kincorth/Nigg/Cove Ward in 2015 and served as leader of the SNP group on Aberdeen City Council from 2016 till his election to Parliament in 2019.

He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South since the 2019 general election.

In December 2022, Flynn announced his intention to run in the election to succeed Ian Blackford as the SNP Westminster leader.

He defeated Alison Thewliss to become leader.

Stephen Flynn was born in Dundee, and went to school in Brechin and Dundee.

He studied at the University of Dundee, graduating with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) in history and politics, and a Master of Letters (MLitt) degree in international politics and security studies.

Flynn has worked as an assistant to Callum McCaig and in the office of Maureen Watt in Aberdeen.

Flynn was elected to Parliament as MP for Aberdeen South at the 2019 general election, winning with 45% of the vote and a majority of 3,990 votes.

Following his election, Flynn was appointed to the role of Shadow SNP Deputy Spokesperson (Treasury - Financial Secretary).

He was promoted to the front bench in February 2021 as Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).

Following Ian Blackford's announcement to stand down as the SNP Westminster Group Leader, Flynn succeeded him as leader following an election by fellow Scottish National Party MPs winning a 26-17 majority over the other candidate Alison Thewliss.

In February 2024, Flynn was highly critical of the role of the speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle during a parliamentary debate on a Gaza ceasefire motion.

Flynn stated that "he and his party has been treated with utter contempt and would need "significant convincing" that the Speaker's position was "not now intolerable".

The SNP motion was criticised by, amongst others, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy MP, who stated that "The SNP motion appears one sided. For any ceasefire to work, it must, by necessity, be observed by both sides, or it is not a ceasefire...Israelis have the right to the assurance that the horror of 7 October cannot happen again."

Flynn is married to Lynn Flynn with two children.

Flynn has suffered from a serious condition called avascular necrosis since his teens and underwent surgery for it in 2020.