SNP infighting rages after Rutherglen by-election disaster with bungling Humza Yousaf warned it can’t be ‘business as usual’ as polls show support slumping and independence dream stalled
SNP infighting is raging in the wake of the Rutherglen by-election disaster today with Humza Yousaf warned it cannot be ‘business as usual’.
The separatists were dealt a shattering blow as Labour overturned a majority of more than 5,000 to seize the seat by a margin of 9,400.
A swing on that scale at a general election would give Keir Starmer’s party more than 40 MPs in Scotland, and almost certainly put him on track to become PM.
It prompted a brutal backlash at the leader – who only this week appeared on the cover of Time magazine boasting that he was ‘shaping the future’. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn warned there was ‘unfinished business’ in the independence campaign.
Former leadership hopeful Ash Regan branded the result a ‘wake-up call’ and said the party must focus on splitting up the UK.
Ex-First Minister Alex Salmond warned that Mr Yousaf has ‘days’ to save his job.
Facing questions this afternoon Mr Yousaf admitted it was a ‘disappointing result’ and he had to ‘take it on the chin’. But he said the party would ‘regroup’ and ‘come back stronger’.
SNP infighting is raging in the wake of the Rutherglen by-election disaster today with Humza Yousaf (pictured) warned it cannot be ‘business as usual’
The separatists were dealt a shattering blow as Labour overturned a majority of more than 5,000 to seize the seat by a margin of 9,400
Polls have consistently showed a majority of Scots still back the union, although the gap in Redfield & Wilton research published today was only 51 per cent to 49 per cent. In terms of support for a Westminster election, the survey found that the SNP was on 34 per cent – just two points ahead of Labour. Mr Yousaf’s personal ratings have never made it into positive territory
Former leadership hopeful Ash Regan branded the result a ‘wake-up call’ and said the party must focus on splitting up the UK
The SNP has seen a staggering turnaround in their fortunes since last year, when Nicola Sturgeon was vowing that a referendum would happen this month.
That prospect was ruled illegal by the courts, while the nationalists have been blighted by bitter rows over gender identity and a extraordinary police probe into the party’s finances.
Polls have consistently showed a majority of Scots still back the union, although the gap in Redfield & Wilton research published today was only 51 per cent to 49 per cent.
In terms of support for a Westminster election, the survey found that the SNP was on 34 per cent – just two points ahead of Labour.
Mr Yousaf’s personal ratings have never made it into positive territory.
The Scottish First Minister said ‘a number of factors’ were at play, including the ‘reckless actions’ of former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, whose breaking of Covid regulations led to the recall petition that sparked the by-election.
He added that the ‘collapse’ of the Tory vote – with the party losing its deposit – and the subsequent shift to Labour, and the ongoing police investigation into the SNP’s finances also had an impact.
But he added: ‘The SNP has to really take the result on the chin as well and understand there’s a message that voters are sending to us too.
‘We will reflect, regroup and we’ll reorganise, and come back stronger.’
Asked about Mr Flynn’s comments, the First Minister said: ‘It’s been obviously less than 12 hours since we got the result of the by-election.
‘There’ll be reflection that has to happen and has to happen with pace, so we’ll do that.
‘I think we need to make sure the party is a nimble and effective campaigning machine, and I think that’s where the SNP is at its strongest.
‘We also have to make sure our message is really crisp, really clear to people.’
Mr Salmond, who now leads the rival Alba party, told Times Radio: ‘I think the implications of this are very serious for the SNP and for the wider national movement.
‘I will go as far as to say I think Humza Yousaf has days in which to save his first ministership.
‘I mean for reasons which are very difficult to understand, he put his personal authority in this byelection and has now suffered the most stunning of reverses.’
Mr Flynn told BBC Breakfast earlier: ‘It has obviously been a very tough night for the Scottish National Party.
‘We’ve had long-standing challenges in relation to Margaret Ferrier and her conduct in terms of breaking coronavirus rules, we’ve obviously had a lot of internal differences over recent months.
‘It is important for us now to reflect on the scale of the defeat that we have had, to look internally at what’s gone wrong and to see what we can do better in future to ensure that we win this seat back in the general election next year.
‘We have lost by a significant margin, we know that our vote has not turned out and we know that we need to remotivate people to vote for the Scottish National Party.
‘Ultimately the Scottish National Party has unfinished business … and I want to get on and ensure that we are an independent nation before too long.
‘The party needs to recognise it can’t just be business as usual. I don’t think anybody is going to say it should just be business as usual.’
Keir Starmer (right) travelled to Rutherglen today to revel in the victory by his candidate Michael Shanks (left)
Polling guru Sir John Curtice said Rutherglen confirmed that Labour poses ‘a serious challenge’ to the SNP.
‘This result very firmly confirms the direction of travel indicated by the polls and that Labour do pose a serious challenge to the SNP’s continued dominance at Westminster,’ he said.
‘That potentially has implications for the overall outcome in the general election because if that were to happen, they would find it easier to get an overall majority.
‘But also the kinds of increases that Labour have registered in their vote in this by-election, what they achieved in Selby, this is the kind of results that you see in advance of general elections when parties are on course to win.
‘So, obviously, 12 months to go and all the rest of it, but I think one has to say that not only now are Labour clearly posing a serious, serious threat to the continuation of a deeply unpopular Conservative government south of the border, but they are now also posing a threat to a relatively unpopular – at least by its historical standards – SNP government north of the border.
‘To that extent, I think they can reasonably claim to have done rather well.’
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