Stephen Flynn has defiantly stated that he will fly 3,000 miles to watch Scotland at the World Cup, even though it will mean ditching his Scottish parliament duties. The former SNP Westminster leader, who was made Transport Secretary in John Swinney’s cabinet earlier this month, even suggested that those who have an issue with his plans can ‘bore off’.
The row comes as the Scottish Government yet again failed to state if Mr Flynn has asked for permission to attend the competition, as required by his role. Even his boss – First Minister Mr Swinney – said the issue is still being considered.
Mr Flynn issued his ‘bore off’ retort after he shared a video last week on social media announcing the Scotland squad for next month’s tournament. Alongside the Scottish Football Association video, which starred Hollywood A-lister Ewan McGregor, he wrote: ‘Can. Not. Wait.’
A member of the public responded to the post, asking: ‘You going over Stevie? You paying for it yirsel’ if so?’ The question seemed to touch a nerve, with Mr Flynn replying: ‘Yep and yep. Like I’ve done for near 20 years. Bore off.’
Commenting on Mr Flynn’s response, Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the public ‘won’t appreciate’ his ‘flippant’ remark. Mr McGoldrick said: ‘Taxpayers will expect MSPs to prioritise the jobs they were elected and appointed to do, particularly when parliament is sitting, and major economic and transport challenges need addressing. If Stephen Flynn chooses to travel to the World Cup, voters will rightly ask how that squares with the responsibilities that come with holding senior public office and won’t appreciate his flippant tone. Public representatives should remember that serving constituents comes before personal interests, however passionate they may be about football.’
Mr Flynn’s position means that Mr Swinney will have to give permission for him to attend any of the matches, which will take place while Holyrood is still in session. Some have suggested that allowing Mr Flynn to join the Tartan Army goes against Mr Swinney’s pledge that his new cabinet would ‘hit the ground running’ and ‘work harder than ever’.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday asked the Scottish Government if Mr Flynn had asked for permission to attend the World Cup. However, it refused to state if he had or not, instead responding: ‘Ministerial plans for the World Cup will be confirmed in due course.’ We then asked Mr Swinney in person if he had given Mr Flynn permission to go. In response, Mr Swinney said he is looking at ‘the implications’ and had not yet decided. He added: ‘I’m giving consideration to that just now.’ When it was pointed out that Mr Flynn appeared to be intent on going regardless, Mr Swinney said: ‘There’s a few things that have to be gone through about that.’
However, Mr Swinney was able to confirm that he himself will be going to America to attend one of the matches. He confirmed he plans to watch Scotland take on Haiti on June 14. Mr Swinney was speaking on a campaign visit to Aberdeen ahead of the by-election for Transport Secretary Mr Flynn’s old Westminster seat when he was asked about his plans. He said: ‘I’m going to the World Cup for a few days, just for the Haiti game, and I’m also going to combine that with other commitments around investment and economic activity.’
Despite the lack of clarity over his permission, Mr Flynn has repeatedly stated that he plans to make the trip to the US. He posted a stream of social media messages after Scotland’s 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden in November secured their place at the World Cup, including one of him twisting his ankle while jumping in celebration in his Westminster office. ‘Left ankle like a melon this morning,’ he wrote. ‘Worth it though.’
The Tartan Army regular also changed his X profile to ‘GOING TO THE WORLD CUP’, and later confirmed he meant that he was personally travelling to North America. The 2026 finals, which run from June 11 to July 19, clash with Holyrood’s timetable, where the Scottish parliament is not expected to start its summer recess until around June 26.
Last week, roads campaigner Laura Hansler, who has been calling for the deadly A9 to be made safer for more than half a decade, slated Mr Flynn over his plans. She said: ‘His work and the work of this government should come first. I can’t think of many other new jobs where disappearing off to football in working parliamentary time would be considered acceptable. This comes down to optics again, much like the attempts to create a public holiday around the Scotland game – trying to be seen as “one of the lads” while people across Scotland are dealing with very real crises.’
