Stephen Flynn's opening speech to SNP
conference
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Conference,
Welcome to Edinburgh - and what a day it is to be here.
For in just a few hours' time the Scotland men's rugby team could
well be crowned six nations champions.
And 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.
But conference, it gets better still.
Because, and bear with me because I'm a little biased on this
one, we are now just 7 wins away from Andy Robertson lifting
the World Cup.
Now you may have read that I've booked flights and got my tickets
for the games.
What you won't have read is that I've not actually asked the
First Minister…
Ach…I think we can all agree he's got more important things to
think about…
…not least, conference,
The small matter of an election on the 7th of May.
And you might have noticed…
…our party, the Scottish National Party, is within touching
distance of the majority that will give our nation a fresh start
with independence.
Though conference, I have to admit – I do feel a wee bit bad.
Because I'm sorry to say that joyful optimism for the weeks ahead
isn't shared by our friends in the Labour Party.
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.
Because when poor finally found the courage to
agree with all of us that wasn't up to the job…
…the Labour Party in London did to just what they always do to the
people of Scotland.
They ignored him.
Friends,
Imagine being the man who picked a fight with the most unpopular
leaders in modern political history – and lost…
And conference, I'm told that Anas's ego hasn't quite got over
the shock that he has zero influence over his London bosses
–
because that can be the only explanation for a Labour election
slogan that will go down in history as one of the, well, most
inspiring of all time.
You know the one I'm talking about - the one he unveiled at his
branch office conference a few weeks ago.
“Hold your nose and vote Labour”
But we all know that no matter how hard anyone holds there their
nose – the Scottish people will always smell desperation from
and Labour.
And friends,
I think I have a better idea.
Instead of asking people to hold their noses – let's give them a
far better choice.
How about the chance to breathe the free air of an independent
Scotland?
Conference,
That fresh start offered by independence smells very sweet to
me.
And how could it not after all we have watched in
Westminster.
But there's a very serious point here…
You only have to look to the events of the last week.
Peter was the darling of the Labour
Party and Westminster establishment.
His scandal was no isolated incident. He was a known quantity.
Make no mistake, they appointed that man to high office time and
again, not because they didn't know who he was.
But because they knew exactly who he was.
They saw his ease with power, wealth, the dark arts – not as
alarm bells ringing - but as boxes ticked.
This is a Labour Party scandal to its very core.
He was their ‘old friend' - and their decision to eventually cut
ties with was nothing to do with the
victims,
it was all about trying to save – whose defence is that he is
the most gullible former Director of Public Prosecutions in
history.
Let's be clear - to this Prime Minister - the victims of Epstein
were never a priority – he didn't even give them a second
thought.
And conference, whilst this chaos isn't new - it does come with a
cost.
When the British Prime Minister is so focused on saving his own
job - is it any wonder he pays no attention to the public losing
theirs?
When nearly every Labour Cabinet member is plotting and
positioning for life after Starmer - is it any wonder that
broken, Brexit Britain has gone from bad to worse?
When the Labour Party is so busy thinking about their own civil
war - you can guarantee they aren't thinking about the cost of
food
that they're not thinking about the cost of energy bills
and
that they're not thinking about the cost of filling up the
car.
And conference, let me tell you this with absolute certainty:
they definitely are not thinking about what's best for
Scotland.
And friends, we now know that chaos is the permanent pattern of
Westminster.
Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak, Starmer.
They change the person – but the politics, and the chaos they
create, remains.
Less than two years ago people – good people - here in Scotland,
trusted the Labour Party to tread lightly on their lives, to
offer change after fourteen years of Tory rule…
It says everything that they haven't been able to pass that
lowest of bars.
Conference, I think we all know that the people of Scotland will
never trust their empty promises ever again!
But friends,
If I keep talking about the mess at Westminster, I'll risk
becoming as cheery as Dougie Alexander.
So – let's turn to something much more positive.
In the middle of all this chaos – Scotland has someone rock solid
to rely on.
We have a leader who has dedicated himself to the service of
Scotland.
A leader whose steady hand is guiding Scotland through what is an
ever more dangerous and chaotic world.
A man, who, whilst Westminster loses the heid – keeps cool and
calm in the face of any challenge…
Although, I think he does make the odd exception for Russell
Findlay…
And conference,
I know.
You know.
And the people of Scotland know…
…that in a turbulent world there is nobody else more trusted to
lead our nation than .
Just as chaos has a cost – the reverse is also true.
Calm, thoughtful and trusted leadership delivers.
Just look at what has achieved since taking on
the leadership of our party and our country.
NHS waiting lists down for 8 months in a row.
The majority of people in Scotland paying less tax than in the
rest of the UK.
Peak rail fares gone for good and rail fares frozen from next
month.
More childcare, a new payment for new-borns and child poverty
falling in Scotland.
Walk in GP centres to beat the 8am rush.
The best of cost-of-living package anywhere on these
isles.
And now a plan to get young people back on the housing
ladder.
Friends,
That's what you get with a Scottish Government focused on, and
delivering on, the priorities of the Scottish people.
That's what you get with an SNP Government always standing up for
Scotland.
That's what you get with a Swinney Government always on
Scotland's side.
And friends,
You know what the best part is - he's told me that he's just
getting started.
But conference…
As we all embark on the final weeks of this campaign…
…let us not forget one important point…
…we must meet and talk to people across Scotland in the full
understanding of where they find themselves at this moment.
Because right now we know that so many people are worried.
They are worried about the world Donald Trump is shaping with his
illegal war in Iran.
The carnage it has caused in the Middle East and the impact here
at home.
They are worried about the war in Europe –
where Ukraine still fights strongly against the barbarism of
Putin – whose pockets only grow deeper due to Trump's war.
They are worried that will pour fuel on the fire of
division and hate that smoulders on parts of these isles if he
ever gets his hands on the keys to Number 10.
Friends,
Families are worried about being able to pay their
bills.
Young people are worried that the jobs they want don't exist.
And workers in my city simply ask why the UK Government continues
to strip good jobs from them.
And it never seems to stop…
Now, we know that the usual suspects will try to exploit that
collective uncertainty.
They will argue that now is not the right time for the hope of
independence –
Their narrow unionism means that, for them, there will never be a
right time because they are incapable of seeing a world beyond
Westminster.
But they are not the audience we need to reach.
The people we must reach are those who see, feel, and recognise
Broken Britain – and who long for something better…
…and here today, in 2026 – after all the chaos we have witnessed
at Westminster – our argument is better and conference it is
stronger.
Because, whilst Broken Brexit Britain floats in isolation,
buffeted by the headwinds of Donald Trump.
Scotland can instead choose to re-join the world, standing
shoulder to shoulder with our friends in Europe.
We can use our enormous energy wealth to power our homes and our
economy.
We can use the might of our greatest resource, our people, to
develop the technology of tomorrow and deliver the jobs of the
future.
We can build a nation not full of fear, but one full of hope.
We can build our nation anew.
Friends, we are a wee nation, but our aspirations for something
better are far bigger than the confines of this union.
And conference, that's why we must win, and will win, our
independence.
Friends,
We must be confident in convincing our public that this future we
crave can be the future that will deliver for them too.
And, friends, we must do so with urgency.
Because when the world is unstable – there can never be a better
time to renew the foundations.
When the world is so uncertain – there can never be a better time
to create our own future.
Because I don't want to live in the relic of Thatcher and Blair's
Britain.
I don't want to live in Starmer's Britain.
I certainly don't want to live in Farage's Britain.
If we want a different future, if we want change – then we need
to create it for ourselves.
Friends,
I know the future I want.
I want to live in an independent Scotland, back home in the
European Union.
And Conference,
That is what sets this party and this movement apart –
That is what only the SNP can offer.
Because when it comes to this election – yes, we are asking
people to give us the privilege of their trust and return this
party to government.
Yes – is by far and away the best
candidate for First Minister.
That idea has always been and remains the true power of our
movement.
That is the meaning of the next 8 weeks.
That is the momentum that will drive our campaign.
So, take that hopeful message, take that meaning to our
neighbours and to our communities.
Knock every door.
Campaign in every corner of our country as only the national
party of Scotland can.
Let's offer people the chance to put faith in themselves and to
have confidence in each other.
Let's re-elect a Swinney government, let's win a majority - and
together – let's achieve the fresh start of independence.
