SNP would have done even worse at election if coalition with Greens was still going, says Stephen Flynn

The SNP would have won even fewer seats at the general election if the party had still been working with the Greens in government, Stephen Flynn has claimed.

The SNP’s Westminster leader told Holyrood that his party’s poor showing in July was a result of it losing the trust of the public.

And he partially blamed the Bute House Agreement for having “eroded” some of that trust.

The SNP returned just nine MPs at the general election, down from the 48 seats it won in 2019, as Labour became the largest party in Scotland.

It also lost its position as the third largest party at Westminster to the Liberal Democrats.

In an exclusive interview with Holyrood, Flynn – who held onto his Aberdeen South seat – said a combination of the SNP’s record in government and recent negative headlines about the party, including the Operation Branchform police investigation into its finances, had had an impact.

He said: “The thing that matters most in politics is trust. Trust in individual politicians, trust in their ability to deliver, to trust in their values and what it is that that they believe in. And when the public look at politicians and political parties, they want to see themselves looking back.

“I think it's without question that the SNP lost the trust of the public.”

He also said it would be a “challenge” to rebuild that trust in time for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, but one which the party was “willing to rise to”.

The party will stay in power as a minority government until that election after former first minister Humza Yousaf ended the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens – a decision which ultimately ended his premiership.

At the time that decision was taken in April, reports suggested Flynn had urged Yousaf to end the Bute House Agreement. Flynn denied having any such role, but added: “Does that mean to say that I'm sad that the Bute House Agreement was ended? No, I think it wasn’t working. I think if we'd still been in coalition with the Greens, there wouldn’t be nine SNP MPs.”

Asked for clarification on whether he thinks the SNP would have fewer MPs, he confirmed: “It would be less.”

He added that going into minority government “may well end up being a good thing” for the parliament as it would encourage “collegiate working”.

In the wide-ranging interview, Flynn also said independence had been taken off the table by the public for now and praised Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his swift reaction to the recent riots in England.

On his own safety as an MP, he revealed he had received several warnings about his security and was even offered additional protection during the election campaign.

“There was talk of me having essentially what would amount to a bodyguard during the general election campaign if I wanted. I didn't take them up on that offer because I didn't feel it was it was necessary,” he said.