Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn

Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn
Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn
Fourth Party of the House of Commons
2022–present
Date formed	10 December 2022
People and organisations
Group Leader	Stephen Flynn
Member party	SNP ;
Status in legislature	Opposition 9 / 650 (1%)
History
Outgoing election	2019 general election ; 2024 general election
Legislature terms	58th UK Parliament ; 59th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Blackford Frontbench

Last updated July 31, 2024

The Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn is the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons since 2022.^[1] The frontbench was first appointed on 10 December 2022.^[2]

Flynn was elected leader of the SNP Westminster Group on 6 December 2022, alongside Mhairi Black as deputy leader, following the resignation of Ian Blackford. Flynn's leadership came at a time of a cost of living crisis and when the United Kingdom's Supreme Court set out that the Scottish Parliament does not have the devolved competence to hold an independence referendum without the consent of the British Government. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had set out plans for the next election to the House of Commons to be a proxy referendum on independence, putting the Frontbench Team at the centre of a constitutional campaign within Scotland.

In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the SNP suffered huge losses losing the vast majority of their seats.^[3] As a result, Stephen Flynn unveiled a new much slimmed down frontbench including himself, Pete Wishart as his deputy and Kirsty Blackman as chief whip.^[4]

Formation

After Flynn's victory in the leadership election, Pete Wishart, Chris Law and Stewart McDonald resigned from the frontbench.^[5]

Members

Frontbench 2022–2023


Portfolio ^[6]	Spokesperson
Group Leader		Stephen Flynn MP
Deputy Leader		Mhairi Black MP
Chief Whip		Martin Docherty-Hughes MP
Economy		The Rt Hon Stewart Hosie MP
Social Justice		David Linden MP
Home Affairs		Alison Thewliss MP
Justice and Immigration		Stuart McDonald MP
Scotland		Philippa Whitford MP
Europe and EU Accession		Alyn Smith MP
Foreign Affairs		Drew Hendry MP
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs		Patricia Gibson MP
Women and Equalities		Kirsten Oswald MP
International Trade, Northern Ireland and Wales		Richard Thomson MP
Energy and Industrial Strategy		Alan Brown MP
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport		John Nicolson MP
Defence		Dave Doogan MP
House of Commons Business		Deidre Brock MP
Levelling Up		Chris Stephens MP
Cabinet Office		Kirsty Blackman MP
Transport		Gavin Newlands MP
Health		Martyn Day MP
International Development		Brendan O'Hara MP
Education		Carol Monaghan MP

Frontbench 2023–2024

On 4 September 2023, Flynn reshuffled the frontbench.^[7]^[8]^[9]


Portfolio ^[6]	Spokesperson
Group Leader		The Rt Hon Stephen Flynn MP
Deputy Leader		Mhairi Black MP
Chief Whip		The Rt Hon Owen Thompson MP
House of Commons Business		Deidre Brock MP
Economy		Drew Hendry MP
Levelling Up		Anum Qaisar MP
Social Justice		David Linden MP
Home Affairs		Alison Thewliss MP
Justice and Immigration		Chris Stephens MP
Attorney General		Patricia Gibson MP
Europe and EU Accession		Alyn Smith MP
Science, Innovation, Technology and Education		Carol Monaghan MP
Scotland		Tommy Sheppard MP
International Development		Anne McLaughlin MP
Foreign Affairs		Brendan O'Hara MP
Women and Equalities		Kirsten Oswald MP
Environment, Farming, Agriculture and Rural Affairs		Steven Bonnar MP
Cabinet Office		Kirsty Blackman MP
Business and Trade, Northern Ireland and Wales		Richard Thomson MP
Health		Amy Callaghan MP
Transport		Gavin Newlands MP
Energy Security and Net Zero		Dave Doogan MP
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport		John Nicolson MP
Defence		Martin Docherty-Hughes MP

Frontbench July 2024–Present

Following the 2024 general election, the frontbench was reshuffled.^[4]


Portfolio ^[6]	Spokesperson
Group Leader		Stephen Flynn MP
Deputy Leader		Pete Wishart MP
Chief Whip		Kirsty Blackman MP

Related Research Articles

Peter Wishart is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and musician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and Kinross-shire since 2024. He previously served as the MP for Perth and North Perthshire from 2005 to 2024 and North Tayside from 2001 to 2005.

Stewart Hosie is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East from 2005 to 2024. He served as the SNP Treasury Spokesperson from 2022 to 2023, and previously from 2015 to 2017. He served as the SNP Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office since 2021. He served as Deputy Leader of the SNP to Nicola Sturgeon from November 2014 to October 2016. He was also the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader and the SNP Treasury Spokesperson from May 2015, until he was succeeded in both positions by Kirsty Blackman in June 2017.

Richard Gordon Thomson is a Scottish politician. He is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gordon from 2019 until the seats abolition in 2024. He was also previously the leader of the SNP group on Aberdeenshire Council. He was the SNP Spokesperson for Business and Trade from 2022, and SNP Spokesperson for Wales and Northern Ireland since 2021.

Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry, known as Drew Hendry, is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey from 2015 until 2024, when the seat was abolished. Hendry has served as the SNP's Economy Spokesperson in the House of Commons since September 2023.

Ian Blackford is a Scottish politician who served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 2015 to 2024.

Alan Brown is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2015 until 2024. Brown previously served as the SNP spokesperson on Energy Security and Net Zero (2022–2023), Energy and Climate Change (2020–2022), Transport (2017–2020) and Infrastructure and Energy (2017–2018) in the House of Commons.

Philippa Whitford is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and a breast surgeon. Originally from Northern Ireland, she was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Ayrshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. Whitford stood down at the 2024 general election. She previously served as the SNP Spokesperson for Scotland from December 2022 to September 2023.

Kirsty Blackman is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen North since 2015.

Alison Emily Thewliss is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from the May 2015 general election until 2024.

Brendan O'Hara is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He serves as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber since the 2024, having previously represented the Argyll and Bute constituency from 2015 to 2024. He has been the SNP spokesperson for Foreign Affairs since September 2023. He served as the SNP Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson from 2017 to 2018, the SNP Defence spokesperson from 2015 to 2017, SNP International Development spokesperson from 2022 to 2023, and SNP Chief Whip in 2023.

Owen George Thompson is a Scottish National Party politician was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian from 2015 to 2017 and from 2019 to 2024. He was elected in 2015, defeated at the 2017 general election, and regained the seat at the 2019 general election.

Stuart Campbell McDonald is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency since 2015. A member of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, he previously served as the SNP Spokesperson for Justice and Immigration from 2022 to 2023. He served as the SNP Shadow Home Secretary from 2021 to 2022. He was the SNP Spokesperson on Immigration, Asylum and Border Control from 2015 to 2021.

Tommy Sheppard is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh East from 2015 until the seat's abolition in 2024. He has been SNP Spokesperson for Scotland since 2023. He is a former SNP spokesperson for the Cabinet Office and a former SNP Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. He is also known for founding The Stand Comedy Clubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Martyn Day is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Linlithgow and East Falkirk from 2015 until 2024. He served as SNP Spokesperson for Health from December 2021 to September 2023.

The Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford was the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.

Amy Callaghan is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the member of parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire from 2019 until 2024 when the seat was abolished and she came second in the newly established seat. She unseated the then Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, with a narrow majority of 149 votes or 0.3%, overturning her majority of 5,339 votes two years earlier. She was SNP Health spokesperson since and sat on the Health and Social Care Select Committee during her time in Parliament.

David Michael Doogan is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Angus and Perthshire Glens, previously Angus, since 2019. Doogan has been the SNP's Energy Security and Net Zero Spokesperson since September 2023.

Stephen Mark Flynn is a Scottish politician who has served as the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons since December 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South since 2019.

The 2022 Scottish National Party (SNP) Westminster leadership election was held to choose the leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, following the resignation of Ian Blackford on 1 December 2022. Stephen Flynn and Alison Thewliss were the two MPs who ran in the election. Flynn was elected by 26 votes to 17.

Frontbench Team is a political term used in the Westminster system of government. It is used to describe the senior leadership of opposition parliamentarians in the British House of Commons and the Dáil Éireann.

References

↑ "SNP Westminster leader denies plotting to oust predecessor". BBC News. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
↑ "Stephen Flynn unveils new SNP Westminster frontbench after reshuffle". HeraldScotland. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
↑ Meighan, Craig (2024-07-04). "SNP suffers huge losses as Labour sweeps to power across UK". STV News. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
1 2 "New SNP frontbench roles confirmed after loss of seats at General Election". The National. 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
↑ "Four SNP MPs in new roles in Westminster reshuffle". BBC News. 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
1 2 3 SNP, the (2022-12-10). "The real opposition: meet your new SNP Westminster Frontbench". Scottish National Party. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
↑ "SNP announces frontbench reshuffle at Westminster". BBC News. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
↑ "SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn reshuffles frontbench team". Sky News. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
↑ "Stephen Flynn announces major shake-up of SNP Westminster team". The National. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-10.

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[1] "SNP Westminster leader denies plotting to oust predecessor". BBC News. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.

[2] "Stephen Flynn unveils new SNP Westminster frontbench after reshuffle". HeraldScotland. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-11.

[3] Meighan, Craig (2024-07-04). "SNP suffers huge losses as Labour sweeps to power across UK". STV News. Retrieved 2024-07-13.

[:1-4] 1 2 "New SNP frontbench roles confirmed after loss of seats at General Election". The National. 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-13.

[5] "Four SNP MPs in new roles in Westminster reshuffle". BBC News. 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-02-09.

[:0-6] 1 2 3 SNP, the (2022-12-10). "The real opposition: meet your new SNP Westminster Frontbench". Scottish National Party. Retrieved 2022-12-10.

[7] "SNP announces frontbench reshuffle at Westminster". BBC News. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-10.

[8] "SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn reshuffles frontbench team". Sky News. Retrieved 2023-09-10.

[9] "Stephen Flynn announces major shake-up of SNP Westminster team". The National. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-10.

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v t e Frontbenches in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Government	Government frontbench
Opposition	Official Opposition frontbench Liberal Democrat frontbench team Scottish National Party frontbench team
Other	Frontbench Team

v t e Shadow Cabinets of the United Kingdom
Official Opposition	Wilson I (1963–1964) Douglas-Home (1964–1965) Heath I (1965–1970) Wilson II (1970–1974) Heath II (1974–1975) Thatcher (1975–1979) Callaghan (1979–1980) Foot (1980–1983) Kinnock (1983–1992) Smith (1992–1994) Beckett (1994) Blair (1994–1997) Major (1997) Hague (1997–2001) Duncan Smith (2001–2003) Howard (2003–2005) Cameron (2005–2010) Harman I (2010) Miliband (2010–2015) Harman II (2015) Corbyn (2015–2020) Starmer (2020–2024) Sunak (2024–present)
Liberal Democrats	Ashdown (1997–1999) Kennedy (1999–2006) Campbell (2006–2007) Cable I (2007) Clegg (2007–2010) Farron (2015–2017) Cable II (2017–2019) Swinson (2019) Davey (2020–present)
Scottish National Party	Robertson (2015–2017) Blackford (2017–2022) Flynn (2022–present)
1964 to Present