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Stephen Flynn has downplayed the chances of becoming First Minister one day due to the impact on his family . The SNP Westminster leader said he would “struggle” with any barriers that stopped him seeing his kids . He also predicted the Labour Government will agree to indyref2 if his party secures a Holyrood majority next year. MP Flynn, who has led the SNP in the House of Commons since 2022, is standing for the Scottish Parliament in Aberdeen in May. He is expected to win the constituency and tipped to be a strong contender to replace John Swinney whenever he stands down. In an interview with the Record, Flynn poured cold water on claims he wanted to be Swinney’s successor. He cited deputy first minister Kate Forbes’ decision to quit Holyrood on the grounds she did not want to miss her child growing up. On whether he would like to become First Minister one day, the dad of two said: “I've got very young kids and much of what Kate said in her letter resonated very strongly with me. I've seen what first ministers have to put in, whether that’s Nicola, whether that's Humza, whether that's John. “As a young parent, I struggle to find myself in a mindset where I would want to miss out on my kids growing up. Because whilst I have a profound duty to people who I am very lucky to represent now and hopefully in the future and to my nation, I've got a higher responsibility to my kids and that weighs very heavily on me.” He said: “I just understand what's important to me and what's right when it comes to how I prioritise my life. I spend a lot of time away from my family, which is tough. “I spend a lot of time away from my kids, which is very hard, puts a lot of strain on my wife, who does a fantastic job making sure that they're lovely wee boys. “And I struggle to see a scenario where, whilst they are young, I would want to put barriers in place to the relationship that I have with them.” Flynn strongly backs Swinney and revealed he asked him to stand for leader when Nicola Sturgeon stood down in 2023: “When Nicola stood down, I phoned John. When Humza stood down, I phoned John, and I did that because I believe that he's the best person and the best politician to lead Scotland." Flynn also endorsed Swinney’s strategy of trying to secure indyref2 by winning an outright majority of SNP MSPs in May: “What a message we can send right across these Isles by winning the majority, leading ourselves to independence, by showing that Nigel Farage can be comfortably beaten and packed off to the side, and perhaps even provide the momentum for the removal of Keir Starmer from Downing Street.” However, he dodged the question about what would happen to indyref2 if the SNP narrowly failed to secure a majority. Asked if he is confident Labour will agree to a referendum in the event of an SNP majority, he replied: “Yes." He added: “I believe firmly that we learn from our past and we know from past experience that the only way to secure an independence referendum is to win a majority. And if a Labour politician is going to tell me that's not the case, then they should probably be quite clear about that with the public.” A Scottish Labour source described Flynn’s indyref2 claims as “nonsense”. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out a second referendum while he is in Downing Street. To sign up to the Daily R ecord Politics newsletter, click here
