SNP conference 2024: Stephen Flynn says party must 're-root' itself in priorities of Scottish people

In the wake of the general election drubbing which saw the Nationalists reduced from 48 MPs in 2019 to just nine, Stephen Flynn told the SNP conference at Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Saturday that there was "no hiding" from the scale of the defeat.

He said: "It wasn't our political opponents, and it wasn't the media, who sent us a stark message at the general election.  It was the people we serve. It was the Scottish people who sent us that message - it came directly from the communities we all grew up in - the communities and the people we are part of."

And he told delegates: "We must re-root ourselves in the priorities of Scottish people - the priorities they are telling us we have moved away from."

He said the party faced the challenge of "embracing the humility and honesty of defeat in order to renew our relationship with the Scottish people". And he urged "patience and purpose" in the party's continued pursuit of independence.

He said: "We should be honest that it has never been and never will be a seamless path to self-determination and independence - and at times over the last few years we should admit that we were sometimes guilty of giving that impression."

Noting that the levels of support for Yes and No on independence remained roughly equal, he said:  "Neither of us, nationalists nor unionists, have been successful yet in convincing the public of the overwhelming case for either independence or for the United Kingdom.

"Some present that as a negative - of the argument being stuck.  But in reality, I think it reflects a deep faith in Scottish democracy - the wisdom of a population who will decide our democratic future when they - and no one else - deems the time to be right."

But he told the conference: "We should always take heart and hope from the fact that half the Scottish people still believe that independence remains the most desirable destination for Scotland's future.  That remains an unprecedented opportunity and would have been almost unthinkable for all those who have served this party and this cause since our foundation."

Mr Flynn praised SNP leader John Swinney, describing him as "the living embodiment of a politics of service". "All his adult life has been dedicated to the purpose of this party alongside a clear-eyed commitment to this country and its future.  There is no man I'd trust more to take us through these turbulent times."

And he paid tribute to the MPs who lost their seats at the election, saying the result was no reflection on their work. "On opposing austerity economics, in being the first to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, on calling out the madness of Brexit, in rejecting the racist race to the bottom on migration policy, stopping Boris' illegal lockdown of parliament, on standing up for the Waspi women and on fighting for Scotland's democratic right to choose our own future, our colleagues did this party proud."