Stephen Flynn among MPs and former MPs approved for potential 2026 candidacy

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and a score of former MPs have been accepted as potential candidates for the 2026 election, Holyrood can reveal.

Flynn drew ire from some woman MSPs earlier this year when it emerged that he would seek the candidacy for the seat currently held by Audrey Nicoll.

Nicoll has since said she will step down in a decision that may clear the way for Flynn to enter Holyrood.

Two other serving MPs – Dave Doogan and Stephen Gethins – also appear on the list circulated this afternoon.

Fifteen of those who lost their seats in last summer’s general election have been cleared for potential candidacy.

The final choice will be made by members of local SNP branches in the coming weeks.

Former MPs on the approved candidates list include Hannah Bardell, Steven Bonnar and Deidre Brock.

Alan Brown, Amy Callaghan and Allan Dorans are also through vetting, as are Patricia Gibson and David Linden.

Anne McLaughlin, Kirsten Oswald, Anum Qaisar and Tommy Sheppard are also named, alongside Alyn Smith, Alison Thewliss and Richard Thomson. Calum Kerr, who sat in Westminster from 2015-17, has also been approved.

Other candidates include serving councillors and party activists as well as Scottish Government special advisors Jack Middleton and Marco Biagi, and Alex Kerr, the SNP's national secretary.

Holyrood understands that more names could be added to the list by Monday, when nominations open. That process will run until the start of April.

An SNP spokesperson said: "We look forward to fielding a strong selection of candidates who are ready to stand up for their communities and move Scotland towards independence."

A slew of sitting SNP MSPs have confirmed they will not stand again in 2026. The cohort now extends to 20 members and includes several members of the Scottish Government. Finance secretary Shona Robison, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop and rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon are among them, along with children's minister Natalie Donn-Innes, higher education minister Graeme Dey and business minister Richard Lochhead.

Former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf will not seek selection again, but ex-health secretary Michael Matheson, who left office amidst a row over his bid to charge taxpayers for an £11k ipad data bill, has been approved by the vetting panel. 

Colin Beattie, who was arrested and released without charge in the Operation Branchform investigation, has also been approved.