HUMZA Yousaf has responded to a potential leadership bid by an SNP member just months after he has taken office.
Chris Hanlon, secretary of the West Fife and Coastal Villages SNP branch, is reportedly gathering nominations online.
Should he reach 100 nominations, it would lead to a second leadership contest for the party in the space of six months.
According to the SNP’s constitution, both the party’s leader and depute leader (currently Keith Brown) must be re-elected annually. This rule would normally pass without notice, as no challengers come forward and so no vote is held.
However, if a challenger with sufficient backing – 100 nominations from 20 different branches – comes forward, they would be able to force an annual leadership battle.
READ MORE: New Independence is Normal series explores indy worldwide
While Hanlon stressed that no firm decisions have been made, on Sunday he posted an image of a SNP leadership nomination form and hinted that Yousaf should be challenged.
Asked about a potential challenge, Yousaf said: “I'm not bothered about it.
“I don't think anybody in the SNP would want to go through another leadership contest. But obviously, it's as I say, there's plenty of things that I've got to concern myself about as First Minister and this is not one of them.”
Hanlon had written on the social media post: “The job of party leader is to implement party policy, all of party policy, and nothing but party policy,” he wrote. “Party policy is decided by conference.
“If, like me, you are concerned that leadership spends too much time pontificating about what they claim party policy is rather than waiting for members to decide or telling journalists that the decision hasn’t been made yet and that questions about the specific details of the independence election will have to wait till conference, I’d like to hear from you.”
During the 2023 leadership contest between Yousaf, Kate Forbes, and Ash Regan, there was never any question of all three securing the 100 nominations due to the low bar it is seen to represent.
It is understood that the SNP’s ongoing governance review will look at whether this provision needs to be changed.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel