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The SNP’s Commons leader attempted a series of lame jokes during his conference speech and showered praise on John Swinney, in a bid to pretend he’s not after his job
Stephen Flynn must be rattled by the Scottish Daily Express as he decided to take a pop at our journalists in his speech to the SNP’s pre-election conference on Saturday.
Speaking before Scotland played Ireland in Dublin in the Six Nations, he declared he would be supporting England against France later on Saturday night (wins for both Scotland and England would see the Scots crowned champions).
The SNP’s Commons leader said: “Friends, I have a confession to make. Should we beat Ireland this afternoon, I can confirm that I will, for the first time in my life, be proudly supporting the most magnificent and extraordinarily talented England team to ever play the game against France tonight. That one will confuse the Daily Express journalists, eh.”
Mr Flynn proceeded to trot out several more lame jokes, including this pun on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s name and Queen Elizabeth’s infamous description of 1992 as her “annus horribilis”. He said: “I’ve even heard that certain members of the Royal Family are already calling it Labour’s very own Anas Horribilis – a tragedy for the ages.”
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And taking aim at Labour’s sober and experienced Scottish Secretary, he quipped: “If I keep talking about the mess at Westminster, I’ll risk becoming as cheery as Dougie Alexander.”
Mr Flynn, who is hoping to win a seat at the Scottish Parliament, is widely touted as having ambitions to replace John Swinney as SNP leader. And, as if to demonstrate his loyalty, he showered praise on the First Minister, describing him as “rock solid”, a “steady hand”, “calm, thoughtful and trusted” and a “a man, who, whilst Westminster loses the heid – keeps cool and calm in the face of any challenge.”
However, he couldn’t resist another attempt at a joke, adding: “Although, I think he does make the odd exception for Russell Findlay…” In fact, Mr Swinney frequently loses his temper when the Scots Tory leader dares to question his record during First Minister’s Questions.
Speaking to the Express (whose journalists are quite prepared to believe Mr Flynn has never supported England before in his life), Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton MSP said: “Stephen Flynn’s rambling speech to the party faithful proves that the SNP only care about one thing, breaking up the United Kingdom.
“He was crystal clear, if the SNP get a majority at the next election, they’ll use secret tactics to secure another divisive independence referendum. This isn’t a distant threat, the danger is very real. The future of the Union is on the line.”
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