Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn | |
---|---|
Third Party of the House of Commons | |
2022–present | |
Date formed | 10 December 2022 |
People and organisations | |
Group Leader | Stephen Flynn |
Deputy Group Leader | Mhairi Black |
Member party | |
Status in legislature | Opposition 44 / 650 (7%) |
History | |
Outgoing election | 2019 general election |
Legislature term(s) | 58th UK Parliament |
Predecessor | Blackford Frontbench |
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 appointed on 10 December 2022. [2]
Flynn was elected leader of the SNP Westminster Group on 6 December 2022, alongside Black's election as deputy leader, following the resignation of Ian Blackford. Flynn's leadership comes at a time of a cost of living crisis while the United Kingdom's Supreme Court has 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 has 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.
After Flynn's victory in the leadership election, Pete Wishart, Chris Law and Stewart McDonald resigned from the frontbench. [3]
On 4 September 2023, Flynn reshuffled the frontbench. [5] [6] [7]
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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.