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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. [1] [2] Flynn was elected by 26 votes to 17. [3]
In June 2017, following the 2017 UK General Election, where the SNP went from 56 MPs to 35, Blackford was elected as leader of the SNP Westminster Group, succeeding Angus Robertson who had lost his seat. [4] He retained that position after the 2019 election where they regained ground, returning 48 MPs.
In February 2021, following significant public controversy, Joanna Cherry, seen as an ally of Alex Salmond, was removed from Blackford's frontbench team due to unspecified "unacceptable behaviour, which did not meet the standards expected of a front bench spokesperson". [5]
In April 2021, a party staff member complained about Blackford's response to a sexual harassment allegation regarding SNP MP Patrick Grady. [6] In June 2022, a recording [7] emerged of Blackford encouraging SNP MPs to support Grady who had apologised and been suspended from the House of Commons for two days [8] for his unwanted sexual advance to a junior SNP colleague in 2016. [9] This comment was met with backlash from across the political spectrum and Blackford faced public calls to resign. [10]
On 17 November 2022, it was reported that Flynn was to challenge Blackford for the leadership, which is determined annually at the AGM of the Westminster Group: Flynn denied any leadership ambition. [11] On 23 November, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for an independence referendum. [12]
Blackford announced his intention to stand down from the role on 1 December 2022. [13] He denied being forced out by SNP MPs. [14]
| Candidate | Political office and constituency | Date declared | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
 Stephen Flynn | SNP Spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2021–present) MP for Aberdeen South (2019–present) | 5 December 2022 | [1] |
 Alison Thewliss | SNP Treasury Spokesperson (2020–present) MP for Glasgow Central (2015–present) | 4 December 2022 | [2] |
The following SNP politicians were speculated as potential candidates for the leadership but declined to stand:
Angus Struan Carolus Robertson is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Former Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2016 to 2018, he has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Central since 2021. Robertson previously served as a Westminster MP for Moray from 2001 to 2017, where he served from 2007 to 2017 as the Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons.
Peter Wishart is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and musician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and North Perthshire, formerly North Tayside, since the 2001 general election.
The leader of the Scottish National Party is the head of the SNP. The incumbent is Humza Yousaf, who was announced as the winner of the 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election on 27 March 2023, succeeding Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and First Minister of Scotland.
This article lists the Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom to provide insight into the politics of the United Kingdom. It contains details including which party the leader belongs to, the leader's seat, and which form of leadership that person holds.
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 has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber since 2015.
Mhairi Black is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons since December 2022.
Alison Emily Thewliss is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central since the May 2015 general election.
Patrick John Grady is a Scottish politician. He was elected at the 2015 UK general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North. He was re-elected for the same constituency in the 2017 general election and in the 2019 general election.
Kirsten Frances Oswald is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician first elected as the Member of the UK Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015; she was unseated at the 2017 snap election but subsequently re-elected at the 2019 election. She served as the deputy leader of the SNP parliamentary party from 2020 to 2022.
Owen George Thompson is a Scottish National Party politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian. He was elected in 2015, defeated at the 2017 general election, and regained the seat at the 2019 general election.
Joanna Catherine Cherry is a Scottish politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West since 2015. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the party's Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice in the House of Commons from 2015 to 2021.
There was a Scottish National Party leadership election to choose the new Depute leader of the Scottish National Party at the SNP's conference on 14–15 October 2016. The SNP's Westminster Group Leader Angus Robertson MP won the election.
The Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford was the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.
The Scottish National Party depute leadership election ran from 18 May to 8 June 2018. The election was contested for the party's new depute leader following the resignation of Angus Robertson in February 2018, after he lost his Westminster seat in the 2017 snap election.
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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 the 2019 general election.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2022.
The Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn is the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons since 2022. The frontbench was appointed on 10 December 2022.
The 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election took place in February and March 2023 to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation on 15 February. Nominations closed on 24 February 2023 with three candidates: Kate Forbes, Ash Regan, and Humza Yousaf. Yousaf was elected the new leader on 27 March with 48.2% of first preference votes and 52.1% of the vote after third-placed candidate Regan's second preferences were redistributed. Yousaf was elected as the First Minister of Scotland on 28 March 2023.
