Paul Flynn (politician)

Flynn was a republican and in 1996 tabled a bill to abolish the monarchy via a referendum.[15] He also supported replacement of the House of Lords with an elected second chamber and opposed the British honours system.[4]

Flynn opposed and campaigned against nuclear weapons.[4] He was also a long-standing opponent of nuclear power in the United Kingdom, especially the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station across the Bristol Channel from his constituency.[16]

Flynn was a firm critic of the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. In 2009 he read out the 176 names of UK military personnel who had died in Iraq in a Commons speech.[4]

In November 2017, Flynn said that President of the United States Donald Trump should be arrested for inciting racial hatred if he visited the UK.[17]

Flynn was a "a titan in the UK drug law reform movement" according to the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a think tank of which he was a patron. This involved asking numerous oral and written parliamentary questions at the request of Transform, tabling early day motions and private members bills, hosting events in Parliament on behalf of the charity, as well as doggedly raising the issue of drug law reform in the house in a series of memorable barnstorming speeches.[18] His speeches included objecting to the classification of psilocybe mushrooms as illegal in the Drugs Act of 2005, in which he said: "We cannot make nature illegal. Magic mushrooms are part of the natural world. Some might describe them as a gift from God."[19][20] Flynn called for the legalisation of cannabis for medical purposes and decriminalisation for general use.[21] In August 2017 said in the House of Commons: "I would call on people to break the law. To come here and use cannabis here and see what happens".[22][8] In October 2017, Flynn sponsored a bill to legalise cannabis for medical purposes.[23][24]

Flynn was critical of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, arguing that the parliamentary expenses scheme should be replaced with a flat rate allowance dependent on the distance of each MP's constituency from Westminster. He claimed that the current procedure was too bureaucratic and time-consuming.[25]

Following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March 2018, Flynn tweeted that the Conservative Party were "officially sponsored by NERVE GAS KILLERS R US". He later deleted the post.[26]

Flynn was a staunch pro-European, and described Brexit as "the biggest political disaster of (his) lifetime", despite Newport West voting to leave the EU by 56 to 44 percent. He served as a delegate to the Council of Europe and the Western European Union.[4] He called for Prime Minister Theresa May to promise a second referendum on membership of the European Union. He stated "second thoughts are always superior to first thoughts". May responded to his call by saying it was "out of the question".[27]

Endowment Justice, a company working on a contingency fee basis for borrowers, held talks with Flynn over its concerns about bad practices at several complaints-handling firms. In 2005 Flynn named them, however, in accusations about the whole sector. Flynn agreed to pay the company's legal costs of £35,450, plus £1,000 in damages, which the company said it would donate to the NSPCC. He also agreed to publish an apology on his website.[28]

Flynn was a harsh critic of the War in Afghanistan, and particularly the decision of the Labour government to expand involvement with the Helmand province campaign in 2006.[4][29] Flynn read out the names of UK military personnel who had died in his commons speeches, and subsequently tabled motions naming all the military casualties so they were listed in Commons papers. After Britain withdrew from Afghanistan, Flynn stated the war, in which 456 British military lost their lives, could be the "worst military blunder in our history since the charge of the Light Brigade", and called for a public inquiry.[30][31]

On 18 September 2012, Flynn was suspended from the sittings of the House of Commons for five days and docked a month's wages, after he accused Defence Secretary Philip Hammond of lying to Parliament by saying that military operations in Afghanistan were not reduced following attacks on NATO troops operating as trainers, and subsequently refused to withdraw the allegation when instructed to do so by Speaker John Bercow.[32][33][34]

In November 2011, Flynn expressed concern that Matthew Gould, the UK's ambassador to Israel, had "proclaimed himself to be a Zionist".[35] Martin Bright, writing in The Jewish Chronicle, reported that when challenged, Flynn said that Gould was vulnerable to accusations "of having Jewish loyalty" and that the position should be given to "someone with roots in the UK". Flynn said, "there hasn't been a Jewish ambassador to Israel and I think that is a good decision – to avoid the accusation that they have gone native."[36] These comments drew criticism from Middle East Minister Alistair Burt, who stated that "Paul Flynn should take some time to consider his comments, which could easily be misconstrued. There is absolutely no reason why our ambassador to Israel should not be Jewish. Any allegations about Matthew Gould's conduct are utterly unsubstantiated. He is a first-class ambassador."[36]

Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, also criticised Flynn, stating that "The faith of any British diplomat is irrelevant to their capability to their job. To make suggestions otherwise is wrong and offensive."[36] Labour MP John Mann, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism, stated that Flynn should start preparing for his "retirement" and that "I suggest he starts his retirement with a workers' education course on understanding racism."[37] Flynn later apologised for his comments, saying "There is no reason that anyone of any race or religion should be debarred from public office."[38]

In October 2018, Flynn announced that he would stand down as an MP before the next United Kingdom general election (eventually held on 12 December 2019) due to his rheumatoid arthritis.[8] He revealed that he was bed-bound and would step down "as soon as possible" but that he was "keen to carry on to represent the city as long as I can. The cost of a by-election is enormous. I want to avoid that if I can." He said that he would "go to the Commons on a stretcher if I have to" to take part in any Brexit deal vote in parliament.[39] However, he was the only MP (apart from the Speaker, Deputy Speakers, tellers and abstentionist Sinn Féin members) who did not vote in the House of Commons "meaningful vote" on the Brexit withdrawal Agreement on 15 January 2019.[40] He did not formally step down before his death the following month.