Want to keep up to date on Welsh politics? Sign up and get political news sent straight to your inbox Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

For nearly three decades, Paul Flynn has been one of the colourful backbench characters of the House of Commons.

Yet the 81-year-old cannabis legalisation supporter has been propelled to the frontbench by the wave of shadow cabinet resignations intended to force Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour leadership.

Newport West Mr Flynn now has two frontbench jobs as Shadow Welsh Secretary and Shadow Leader of the Commons following the resignations of Llanelli’s Nia Griffith and Rhondda’s Chris Bryant.

The author of Commons Knowledge: How to Be a Backbencher said Labour's crisis felt like a Greek tragedy.

He said: “It’s like being in the middle of a Greek tragedy. Very bad things are happening, nobody knows how it’s going to end and nobody knows who’s writing the scripts.”

But he says there are advantages to his new job.

“I do find that the despatch box is a surprisingly adequate substitute for a Zimmer frame.

"It hadn’t dawned on me before but it’s much easier speaking from there than it is from the back because there’s something to lean on.”

Mr Flynn, who was first elected in 1987, has been told he is the oldest MP to serve on the front bench since the days of Gladstone.

He said: “He was still Prime Minister at the age of 84, I gather, so... everything is possible.”

Mr Flynn acknowledges his time in the shadow cabinet “might well be short-lived” but he argues it is essential Labour does not leave key positions unfilled.

He said: “We can’t leave empty places on the front bench which would be populated by Plaid Cymru or by the Scottish nationalists.”

Last week Mr Flynn made his first outing as Shadow Leader of the Commons. Here are some of his most memorable quotes .

On his promotion...

“I have been a backbencher by choice – not just my choice, but the choice of the past five leaders of my party.”

On being an octogenarian...

“I believe ​that my appointment to this post will be a trailblazer which will lead to an all-octogenarian shortlist in the party, and will make the wealth of experience and wisdom among my fellow octogenarians available to the House.”

On speaking Welsh in the Commons...

Speaking Welsh has the same status as spitting on the carpet: it constitutes disorderly behaviour... It is marvellous to recall that Welsh was an ancient sophisticated language centuries before English existed.

“In fact it was spoken, as was Gaelic, at the time when the ancestors of those who created English were pagan barbarians who painted themselves blue with woad and howled at the moon from the top of mountains.”

His arrival on the front bench comes as parliament is braced for the long-awaited publication of the Chilcot report into the invasion of Iraq.

Mr Flynn, who was thrown out of the Commons in 2012 after accusing defence ministers of “lying” over events surrounding the deaths of soldiers in Afghanistan, wants to use his new position to push for an inquiry into the British campaign in the country’s Helmand province.

Mr Flynn will also have to scrutinise the Wales Bill, intended to give the Assembly further powers and bring new stability to the devolution settlement.

Here are his views on several key issues:

Energy powers

He wants the Assembly to gain greater control over energy projects than is envisaged in the present legislation. A fierce critic of recent nuclear power projects, Mr Flynn argues that “our North Sea oil is hydro power and tidal power.”

Mr Flynn supports the passage of the Wales Bill but expects this will not be the last transfer of powers to the Assembly.

He said: “There will be a succession of grudged gifts coming to Wales because of the power-retentive nature of parliamentarians and politicians... But this is a substantive bit.

“It’s worthwhile and it will be discussed in a an atmosphere of harmony and mutual respect.”

Helmand

He described the role of Shadow Leader of the House as “one of these glorious jobs that give you a great deal of freedom to make points on various issues” and is no doubt about the significance of the Chilcot report.

He said: “Chilcot is of enormous importance. We need to learn how to keep out of wars...

“[We] lost 179 British lives and at least 150,000 Iraqi lives and left that country in chaos to this day, all because of the vanity of politicians and the stupidity of politicians...

“I also want to lay down a marker for an inquiry into Helmand, because Helmand if anything was worse, certainly in terms of lost British lives.”

Can Wales keep the UK's lights on?

The National Assembly should not be denied responsibility for energy projects of more than 350MW, he argues, saying: “That would mean they could approve the Swansea lagoon [but] not the Newport and the Cardiff ones. There’s great prospects of hydro power in North Wales because of our geography...

“They need greater powers on that if they are to develop Wales as a great energy power house for the whole United Kingdom. Hydro power and tidal power, these are our main assets that our geography gives us.”