The 2022 Scottish National Party (SNP) Westminster leadership election was held to choose the leader of the SNP in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, following the resignation of

Ian Blackford Ian Blackford (born 14 May 1961) 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. Or ...

on 1 December 2022. Stephen Flynn and

Alison Thewliss Alison Emily Thewliss (born 13 September 1982) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central since the May 2015 general election. Before being elected to Westminster, Thewliss wa ...

were the two MPs who ran in the election. Flynn was elected by 26 votes to 17.

Background

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. He retained that position after the 2019 election where they regained ground, returning 48 MPs. In February 2021, following significant public controversy,

Joanna Cherry Joanna Catherine Cherry (born 18 March 1966) 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 Se ...

, seen as an ally of

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

, was removed from Blackford's frontbench team due to unspecified "unacceptable behaviour, which did not meet the standards expected of a front bench spokesperson". In April 2021, a party staff member complained about Blackford's response to a sexual harassment allegation regarding SNP MP

Patrick Grady Patrick John Grady (born 5 February 1980) 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 an ...

. In June 2022, a recording emerged of Blackford encouraging SNP MPs to support Grady who had apologised and been suspended from the

for two days for his unwanted sexual advance to a junior SNP colleague in 2016. This comment was met with backlash from across the political spectrum and Blackford faced public calls to resign. On 17 November 2022, it was reported that

Flynn Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish ''Ó Floinn'', meaning "descendant of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname rather than a first name. A ...

was to challenge Blackford for the leadership, which is determined annually at the AGM of the Westminster Group: Flynn denied any leadership ambition. On 23 November, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to legislate for an independence referendum. Blackford announced his intention to stand down from the role on 1 December 2022. He denied being forced out by SNP MPs.

Candidates

Declined

The following SNP politicians were speculated as potential candidates for the leadership but declined to stand: *

Mhairi Black Mhairi Black (; or /vaɾʲɪ/ in Scottish Gaelic born 12 September 1994) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, serving as the party's deputy leader in the House of Commons since December 2022. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) ...

, MP for

Paisley and Renfrewshire South Paisley and Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in Renfrewshire, Scotland to the southwest of Glasgow. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system o ...

''(running for deputy leader)'' *

Alyn Smith Alyn Edward Smith (born 15 September 1973) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling at the 2019 general election. He also served as a Member of the E ...

, MP for

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Endorsements

Thewliss

* Stuart McDonald, MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East ''(running for deputy leader)'' *

Pete Wishart Peter Wishart (born 9 March 1962) 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. Wishart ...

, MP for Perth and North Perthshire

References

{{Scottish National Party 2022 in British politics

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

December 2022 events in the United Kingdom