STEPHEN Flynn’s path to Holyrood has opened up after local SNP members backed his bid.
The SNP’s Westminster leader has now been formally nominated for the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine seat.
He previously faced backlash from inside and outside the party after announcing his intention to stand for the seat while also remaining an MP. He later backed down and said he would no longer seek a dual mandate.
Audrey Nicoll (below), who currently holds the seat, said earlier this year she will not seek re-election in the seat, but denied it had anything to do with Flynn.
An attempt to fight Flynn for the nomination was launched by Anouk Kloppert, an SNP councillor in Aberdeenshire.
But she has failed to win the backing of local members at a branch meeting, according to The Times.
While Kloppert could still contest if she obtains the backing of 50 local members, she has reportedly announced she will not attempt this.
The Times reports that Flynn is believed to have formally put himself forward for the nomination at a meeting 10 days ago and was endorsed overwhelmingly.
Kloppert, meanwhile, said that although she passed internal vetting she was “not standing anywhere”.
Nominations close on Monday next week but it is thought to be unlikely there will be a last minute challenger.
“The constituency have Stephen’s back, even if the Holyrood sisterhood have a problem with it,” an SNP source told the newspaper.
“He is well liked and Anouk didn’t stand a chance.”
Flynn formally putting himself forward means there will probably have to be a by-election for his Aberdeen South seat at Westminster, with MSPs voting in December to ban so-called “double jobbing”.
