Stephen Flynn says two-child cap vote proves SNP not a spent force at Westminster

Speaking in a week where 102 MPs backed an SNP amendment to scrap the limit, the party’s Westminster leader argued his members still had an influence in the House of Commons, despite being reduced to just nine MPs in a dismal general election result.

Mr Flynn stressed the importance of working with other parties to influence the UK government, saying a “timid” King’s Speech had left plenty of room to push Labour to be bolder.

Asked about the SNOP’s strategy going forward, Mr Flynn told The Scotsman his party would seek to be a “constructive opposition”.

He said: “I think we’ve demonstrated over the course of the last two weeks that despite being fewer in number, we still know how to make our voices heard within Westminster, to the extent that we’ve been able to bring 102 parliamentarians to a position where they agree the UK government should be doing something differently.

“We have had to work across party in a way that we perhaps haven’t had to do, because of course we were guaranteed the opportunity to put across our perspective in a clear and apparent way. But we’ve managed to bring a number of smaller parties in Westminster and the Liberal Democrats to a position where we could make clear our opposition.

“I think that demonstrates the influence that we can still have within the Westminster parliament, and for us that’s a starting point for what comes next in the coming months and years as we seek to be a constructive opposition.”

Having lost third-party status, Mr Flynn no longer has a question every week at Prime Minister’s Questions, and the party also loses its positions on committees. However, Mr Flynn insisted there would still be key areas the party could target and influence the government on.

He said: “I think there are key areas which are the priority. Eradicating child poverty. We need to see growth in the economy, we need to see investment, and there’s many of the other things that we talked about in the general election campaign, they haven’t gone away. We need to see a distinct migration policy for Scotland. It’s important for us to be clear within the framework of Westminster where we can best deliver an argument that will change the course of the direction the UK government is seeking to take.

“I think the timid nature of the Labour prospectus in the King’s Speech affords all the opposition parties the opportunity to try and push them to deliver real and meaningful transformation for people not just in Scotland, but across the UK.”

Referencing the two-child cap, Mr Flynn said the SNP were already showing their principles, comparing it to a Labour party he suggested were abandoning theirs.

He said: "I think what we need to do, as we’ve done this week, is highlight our values and principles and the policies that we think need to change on the back of 14 years of chaotic disastrous Tory rule that has made everyone poorer and drastically damaged the lives of far too many people in Scotland.

“We need to say these are the things we think you could and should be changing, here are the solutions that we can present to you to make people’s lives better, to improve the opportunities that are in front of them and then see how the Labour Government responds to that. In particular, how Labour MPs from Scotland respond to that.

“During the course of the election campaign, even in advance of the election campaign going as far back as the by-election, it was made very clear that when it came to things like the two-child benefit cap, Labour MPs would be willing to take a stance that was different to Keir Starmer.

"That obviously hasn't been the case this week, and I would probably suggest that as we move forward it would not be the same case moving forward on other matters as well.”

Labour MPs stress they want to scrap the cap, but are waiting until the UK’s finances improve to be able to do it. The UK government also announced a taskforce to tackle poverty as part of the King’s Speech. However, Mr Flynn dismissed this defence, claiming it relied on sticking with “Tory fiscal rules”.

He said: “They have levers of power now. There is huge revenue raising schemes which could be put in place by the now Labour UK government. They are actively choosing not to do that and instead constraining themselves. That constraint they’ve put on themselves is a political choice, just like choosing not to take children out of poverty is a choice.

“I think in politics, when you get into a position where you can elicit change, and deliver the sort of change which Labour can given the size of their majority, you need to determine what your principles and priorities are, and they’ve decided this isn’t one of them. I don’t know why you need a taskforce to tell you why the rape clause shouldn’t exist, or why you need a taskforce to tell you that the two-child cap causes harm and puts children into poverty. This is just trying to kick a can down the road.”

Recently refusing to rule out ambitions of heading to Holyrood, Mr Flynn was also asked if his ambition had always been Westminster or if he had previously considered a move to the Scottish Parliament.

Stressing his focus on local issues working in Westminster, he said: “When I was a child growing up, I never anticipated that I would be in elected politics, because people with my background didn’t go into elected politics, so I’m afraid it wasn’t something that was an aspiration of mine. I just want to be the best elected representative that I can.

"I’ve sought to be a clear and passionate force in Westminster for the things that I believe in, and I think in politics there’s perhaps a dearth of politicians who are committed to what they believe in. We need more people in politics who have clear values and principles.”

Pushed on whether he’d consider a move to Holyrood, Mr Flynn again stressed his commitment to his constituents, without ruling it out.

He said: “I don’t know, I’ve just been re-elected to Westminster, I’ve got a good job to do here. I’ve got constituents to represent and they are my focus. I’m not going to rule anything in and I’m not going to rule anything out. I think in politics, and I’ve probably experienced this myself in the past, the moment you make grand statements with regards to what you intend to do or otherwise, life changes, things change.”

The Aberdeen South MP also expressed his hope that GB Energy would be based in Aberdeen, while also stressing a need for clarity on how the publicly-funded company launched by Labour this week would work.

He said: “We need to understand exactly what GB Energy is going to do, but if it is going to be a key driver, and key government department on the journey to net zero, then their proximity to that department would be welcomed. That provides opportunities for Aberdeen to galvanise and develop the supply chain, so from that perspective, it is quite important.

"There is also the basis of, if you are wanting to do an energy transition, then it is entirely logical that you base yourself surrounded by the smartest people in energy, not just in the UK, but right across Europe, if not further afield.”

Mr Flynn added: "When it comes to GB Energy itself, we are desperately awaiting clarity on what it is going to do. There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”