ALTHOUGH I didn’t vote for Humza Yousaf in the leadership contest, I genuinely do wish him well in his task as leader of the SNP. As a very long-term party activist, however, there is some advice which I would like to offer him, which is that he needs to re-establish the practice of former SNP leaders of listening to the opinions of the grassroots party membership.
For all of her successes in winning elections, this is something that Nicola Sturgeon and other senior figures within the party stopped doing in recent years, and as a result the party found itself embroiled in some difficulties which both could and should have been avoided.
READ MORE: Kate Forbes rejects minister job in Humza Yousaf's government
The medium through which SNP activists made their views known to the party’s office bearers and, when needed, to hold them to account for their actions was the SNP National Council. The SNP conference of 2018 was persuaded to abolish the National Council. The conference of 2021, however, voted to reverse that decision and restore it. Despite that vote taking place in 2021, no meeting of the SNP National Council has taken place. As far as I am aware no explanation has been provided to the party’s members for this. During the interim period since 2021 it has also been revealed that more than 32,000 members have left the SNP.
Take heed, Humza! Make the restoration of the National Council a priority and start listening to what the grassroots membership of the party are saying.
Jim Finlayson
Banchory
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar says new SNP leader will 'not have mandate' to become FM
AM I missing something here? First-preference votes were Humza Yousaf 48.2%, Kate Forbes 40.7%. In the direct Humza/Kate contest that expresses as 54.2% Humza, and 45.8% Kate. That’s a very clear preference by the SNP members in favour of Humza. Why do we always allow the Unionist media and the BBC to dictate the framing?
John Jones
Ayr
REGARDLESS of whom you eventually voted for, you have to say well done Kate Forbes. It could not have been easy to be dragged back, at very short notice, from maternity leave into the spotlight of an election campaign to be the First Minister of Scotland. Against the weight of almost the entire remaining leadership of the SNP and the bulk of its MPs and MSPs, to end up only a few percentage points short of victory was a massive achievement.
I suspect her perceived failure to express clearly her personal religious beliefs in the context of political policy in the very early days of the campaign cost her dear.
READ MORE: What it was like in Holyrood as Humza Yousaf won vote to become FM
I fear our new leader now has a political mountain to climb. A UK General Election will be upon us sooner than many in the SNP will perhaps like or want. Election campaigns are becoming increasingly presidential in both style and content. Voters are more and more likely to vote based on the performance of a party leader.
Whatever you might have thought of the previous First Minister, her sudden, largely unexplained departure has left a large hole in both the independence movement and the SNP. Humza Yousaf will struggle to fill that gap in the relatively short time before the next UK election when his personal rating with voters is currently so far in negative territory. UK issues will dominate the campaign. “Vote Labour to kick the Tories out” will be the message in the media.
If, for example, both Port Glasgow ferries are not “sailin doon the watter”, NHS Scotland waiting lists and waiting times have not reduced, bottles and cans are not being recycled, and a clear path to Scottish independence has not been identified, some of the MPs who backed Mr Yousaf may find themselves looking for other employment.
Brian Lawson
Paisley
LISTENING to the BBC’s Laura Miller interview representatives of Conservative and Labour parties outside Holyrood last night, the huge void in SNP self-defence stood out again like a sore thumb as so often in the past. There was of course no SNP member present and it was help yourself for opposition members.
They concluded by declaring that the new leader of the SNP as First Minister must direct his attention not toward another independence referendum but toward SNP failures in Scottish education, health and the riddance of poverty. There lies the cue to get off the floor and clarify exactly why we need independence.
READ MORE: Shona Robison: Who is Scotland's new deputy first minister?
Considering that the search for independence is why membership in party and parliament are greatest in the SNP of all Scottish parties, confirming the desire for that goal, the case for it needs to be first and foremost when opposing the constant bickering by opposition leaders at FMQs. The First Minister must hammer home the reasons why Scotland suffers a gross injustice by the funding we receive from Westminster. The deliberate deception and secrecy by hiding facts in the McCrone report needs to be repeatedly mentioned. “Explain that, Mr Sarwar, or forever haud yer wheesht.” The Barnett formula explained, our inability to borrow against our own assets while Westminster does so with ease.
Tell the audience facts that matter and thereby induce confidence that independence really is justifiable and there for the taking ... and do it again every time opposition parties need reminding.
Tom Gray
Braco
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf must be careful over pressure on 'progressive agenda'
THE terms “progressive” and “progressive values” have been much bandied about during the SNP leadership race by members of the Scottish Green Party in particular. As a fan of irony I was tempted to point out that back in the day, local councillors elected under the “progressive” banner were, er …Conservatives. Nor am I clear how a stooshie over gender advances the cause of Scottish independence or helps tackle climate change. Are the Green ministers Conservatives in disguise? I think we should be told!
John Quinn
Dundee
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