Stephen Flynn will consider running to be the SNP’s leader the next time there is a vacancy for the top job.
However, the Aberdeen South MP insisted he was “genuinely just glad that we've got John Swinney in charge of the party, in charge of the Government.”
Speaking to Scottish journalists in the Commons earlier this week, the SNP’s Westminster leader also said he would think about moving to Holyrood next year.
“It's not often that you win elections, it's not often that you get re-elected. I'm very fortunate in that regard to have done so in Aberdeen South, the first SNP MP to ever be re-elected.
“And I've got a job to do for those folk. That's my priority just now, it will be my priority for the next few months, and obviously, then next year, I'll make a decision.”
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Currently, the party’s rules make it impossible for SNP politicians to hold dual mandates. An MP picked to stand for Holyrood needs to first quit their Westminster seat, triggering a by-election and making their staff redundant.
When it was introduced in 2020, it was widely seen as a ploy to stop Joanna Cherry from heading to the Scottish Parliament.
Over the summer, following their disastrous election result, Mr Swinney suggested the rule could be looked at again.
Mr Flynn was one of just nine SNP MPs returned in July, down from 48 at the previous election.
Despite the drubbing in the Westminster vote, polls have suggested the race for Holyrood is tight.
Earlier this week, Survation had both the SNP and Labour on 28% in the constituency vote, while Anas Sarwar’s party enjoyed a one point lead at 25% to 24%.
Asked if he wanted to move to Holyrood, Mr Flynn said: “I've just not made up my mind. It's not been something that's been at the forefront of my thought process. I've been fully focused on the general election campaign.
“I have a very young family who I need to consider. I've got my constituents who I've got a responsibility to. And when you start adding all those things together, I think it's important in politics, you take your time, you make a reasoned judgment that you think benefits everyone.
“So I'm not going to rush into anything. There's obviously a lot of people asking the question, but I'm going to give myself the time to think about it.”
Mr Flynn has often been talked about as a potential leadership candidate for the party, with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes his only rival.
Asked if he would be interested in the leadership, he said: “I've never sat there and thought, I want to do this or I want to do that, much to the surprise of some people, I would imagine, who expressed other views, their own perceptions of what motivates me.”
He added: “I think you should always be confident in your abilities and what it is that you believe in, but it's just not something that I've put a great deal of thought into.
“I mean, the party's had numerous elections now for leaders in the last few years, and if I'd been mad keen for it I would have put my head above the parapet, but I didn't, because I thought others were better placed.
“And just as when I'm considering whether I want to run for Hollywood or not, if a time ever came, a vacancy at the top of the party, I would put the same kind of thought in.
“But it's not something that I've actively considered and I'm genuinely just glad that we've got John Swinney in charge of the party, in charge of the Government.”
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