The election of Stephen Flynn as the SNP’s Westminster leader has been portrayed by other parties as a blow for the authority of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Mr Flynn is replacing a close ally of Ms Sturgeon in Ian Blackford, and won a contest against another in Alison Thewliss.

But with the two politicians insisting they will work together towards their shared goal of Scottish independence, has talk of divisions within Scotland’s most dominant political force been overstated?

The Westminster group has always been slightly more restive, being further from Ms Sturgeon’s control and lacking a clear purpose as the third party in a parliament all of its members would like to leave.

But there have been rumblings of discontent in the first minister’s back yard at Holyrood too.

In October, the SNP suffered its largest ever backbench rebellion over the government’s plans to make it easier for people to change their legally recognised gender.

One minister resigned to vote against the plans, and eight other MSPs broke the whip – accounting for 20% of the party’s backbench group.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters