Vote Swinney, get Flynn? Why SNP exodus may hand power to an even worse bunch

There is a grim sense of attrition around the Scottish Government as more and more MSPs retire, even while Labour plummets in the polls and the SNP should rightly be expected to benefit. The nationalists have a record which is hard to defend – unless, perhaps, they replace those responsible for that sorry record.

This stampede for the exit, however, may leave an even worse SNP group in its wake, headed up by the “hard man” of Aberdeen South, Stephen Flynn. Is “Vote Swinney – Get Flynn” really the best we can hope for from the SNP in 2026?

Whatever his bravado about planning to remain First Minister until 2031, there are no outcomes to next year’s election which will see John Swinney still in post in the long term. Even if the SNP defy those decades of failure and manage to eke out a win next year, the long sgian dubhs are coming.

Jumping on bandwagons

If there is one thing Flynn does not do, it is subtlety. He has made it clear that he sees Swinney’s current job as his by right. That should be worrying to us all, whether you support the SNP or not.

Flynn is a man with a record long on intrigue but short on ideas. He knows how to jump onto a bandwagon but has never done the hard yards – and he plans to bring that brand of politics to Holyrood.

Last year when the Post Office Horizon scandal became a national story, Flynn leapt in front of the microphones. His interest in the issue seemed just a little convenient; for years beforehand there had been many debates in parliament on Horizon. Flynn was notable only for his absence.

His SNP colleague Marion Fellows, on the other hand, demonstrated a genuine commitment on the Horizon scandal over many years. Somehow I doubt that someone like Marion fits into Flynn’s plans for Holyrood, any more than Audrey Nicoll did.

Flynn’s boys’ club

Flynn also performed a dramatic turn over the conflict in Gaza. He did well for himself, using the crisis to attack the Labour party and make outraged speeches about the SNP being “victims”. It rang a little hollow, however, given that Flynn had never spoken about Palestine in parliament before it hit the news headlines.

That is what you get when the measure of political success becomes rhetoric rather than results. The SNP in Holyrood have long been known for short-termism and putting PR ahead of good policy. I cannot imagine that this is going to improve if they are replaced by Flynn’s boys’ club – and yet they appear to be what is on offer from the SNP.

These are hard times, where easy rhetoric and glib answers will not cut it. As we look towards Holyrood 2026, we have to ask if Stephen Flynn and his friends are really the answer to the challenges we face.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland