SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn intends to stand in the 2026 Holyrood elections, he has announced.

The Aberdeen South MP said if elected to the Scottish Parliament he would aim to retain his Westminster seat until the next general election, due in 2029, but would not accept two salaries.

The announcement sparked concern among party colleagues, with one MP urging him to rethink his decision.

Applications to stand as an SNP candidate in 2026 closed on Monday, although the formal selection process will not begin until next year.

BBC Scotland News understands that former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf have submitted nominations, but have not yet decided whether or not they will stand for re-election.

Flynn, writing in the Press and Journal, said he hoped to win his party’s nomination for the seat of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, currently held by Audrey Nicoll.

The SNP Westminster leader added: “I don’t want to be left out of the next battles our city, our county and our country will face at Holyrood.”

He also said he hoped to help the SNP make the case for independence.

Flynn told the Press and Journal he would not “fill it with great pleasure” to face Nicoll for selection at Aberdeen South and North Kincardine.

Nicoll, who was first elected to Parliament in the 2021 election, said: “As a constituency MP, my focus will remain on working tirelessly for voters, regardless of any internal party selection process.

“I look forward to any competition, where of course it will be up to branch members to select those they wish to represent them at Holyrood in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.”

Employment controversy

Ahead of the 2021 Holyrood elections, the SNP changed its internal rules to require MPs to resign their Westminster seats in order to fight for selection at Holyrood.

The party too already criticized former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross for holding seats at Westminster and Holyrood, as well as being a professional football referee, calling it “three jobs”.

In 2021, SNP MP Karen Adam claimed Ross was “letting down” his constituents “in thinking he could do both jobs well”.

Flynn said he thought the selection rules were “election-specific.”

In his column he cited examples of SNP politicians who have previously held seats in both parliaments, citing First Minister John Swinney and former First Minister Alex Salmond.

SNP MP Emma Roddick said she hoped Flynn would “rethink” his ambition to hold two seats.

She posted on X: “Party members established this rule for good reasons. Douglas Ross has rightly been criticized for playing two roles simultaneously. »

The Highlands and Islands MP said she couldn’t imagine “being a good MP” while spending “half” her time in London.

She added: “(It is) essential that the rules apply equally to everyone: to men and women.”

A former SNP MP told BBC Scotland News: “I’m not sure seeing me taking Audrey Nicoll out of work so he can have two jobs is a smart argument.”

Another senior party official called it “naked ambition”.

The party has not yet decided what its rules will be for candidates in the next election.

The change on dual mandates led to then-MP Joanna Cherry. withdraw from the selection competition for the central Edinburgh headquarters.

Health Secretary Neil Gray also had to resign from his post as deputy before being elected to Holyrood in 2021.

Cherry – who lost his Westminster seat in July’s general election and has ruled out a run for Holyrood elections in 2026 – said the SNP’s rule banning dual mandates was “specific to one person”.

In response to Flynn’s column, she added in a post on “served its purpose” and predicted it would not be in place for 2026.

Flynn was tipped as the future leader of the SNP, but he predicted there would be no contest to replace Swinney for “many, many years”, adding that he had full confidence in the prime minister.

He told the Press and Journal: “Of course I want to do everything I can to help my party and help my country and that will never change. »

Few who follow Scottish politics will be surprised by Stephen Flynn’s decision.

He is widely regarded as one of the SNP’s most talented politicians. And Holyrood offers him opportunities that Westminster will never have (like becoming a government minister or – one day perhaps – prime minister).

But it is a controversial decision in several respects.

Although other SNP politicians have previously served simultaneously in Westminster and Holyrood, the party’s rhetoric about “double duty” has hardened in recent years.

The party previously claimed that former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was trying to “have it both ways” by sitting in both parliaments.

Flynn will now face the same charge.

Secondly, there is already an SNP MP in place in the seat where Stephen Flynn is aiming to run. And she has not indicated that she plans to step down. So it appears that an internal challenge is underway.

To summarize, this is an expected decision with unexpected elements.

Former SNP MP Richard Thomson, who lost his Gordon seat in July, has also confirmed he will stand for election to Holyrood in 2026.

However, he did not specify a constituency. he posted on that there was “important work to be done for the north-east and Scotland as a whole”.

Although being selected to stand in a constituency is a potential route to the Scottish Parliament, candidates can also win a seat via regional lists under the Holyrood voting system.