Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

I also had friends and family here for decades before coming to live here (which I have done for 20 years). Sitting here daily surrounded by friends, acquaintances and strangers, the Scottish press and TV, and lacking the inevitable constraint of getting my news filtered by family, I can say with confidence that your earlier comments simply don’t align with reality. If you don’t actually live here then you’re getting your news from a limited viewpoint coloured by your own assumptions.

Humza Yousaf is the SNP establishment placeman. Nothing much will change under his watch, which is a bullet not dodged but very much to the brain for the SNP given the problems it faces. In particular, the SNP’s desire to merge health and social care, a policy he has been intimately involved with as health secretary, is in serious trouble and facing opposition from local authorities and trade unions. If he lacks the political skill to deliver one flagship policy he’s unlikely to thrive as FM in charge of the whole lot.

The chickens will have very come home to roost by the time the next Holyrood election comes round in 2026, by which time the SNP will have been in power for 19 years. Yousaf has done nothing to show he has the political skill required to defy gravity and win another election, and much to suggest he lacks that ability.

Kate Forbes was the one the SNP heirarchy very much did not want in charge yet she ended the contest with 48% of the support - this from paid up, politically engaged members of what is supposedly an extremely politically progressive party. The reality is, the SNP has for the last 20 years been what the clique running it has decided it is, and not at all reflective of its wider membership except on the narrow issue of independence. This is unsurprising given that the SNP is really just a single issue pressure group forced to act as a full-on political party in order to secure its core aim.

Forbes’ social conservatism was popular with - or at least tolerable to - almost half the SNP’s membership, and she was notably more popular with the public at large than either Yousaf or Regan (net approval ratings -8, -20 and -24 respectively).

https://news.stv.tv/politics/humza-y...lic-poll-finds

To sum it all up … the only way you can conclude that the SNP has dodged a bullet by choosing Yousaf is if you personally approve of what he represents in terms of a socially progressive Scotland. Because based on actual facts - prior competence in office, likely ability to win a difficult election, alignment with actual Scottish social values - he’s a distant second to Forbes.

Which is why every opposition leader in Scotland with the exception of the Greens was celebrating last night.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

And yet, you still posted it…

You didn’t answer the question - why wouldn’t he be in the SNP?

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

You wilfully misrepresent what I said. My point was that if Forbes was chosen, she would have been a liability relating to progressive social issues that are important to a significant number of (younger) Scottish voters. You may not personally appreciate this point but it does not make me wrong.

I think you need to appreciate that other people can have different viewpoints and not always conclude that yours is always the only authoritative one.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

I appreciated your point perfectly well, and I disagree with it. The SNP would not have struggled with a socially conservative leader running it despite the views of younger voters. The polling data doesn’t support that view. In addition to what I’ve already posted, you can also add the fact that Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, has a turnout bias towards older voters.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

I agree, The best thing that could happen is dissolve the SNP. Scottish would flourish without them, I would never vote for them and anyone trying to get rid of the Monarchy is not my cup of tea,

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

And so it begins..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...team=editorial

https://news.sky.com/story/kate-forb...ousaf-12844341

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

Well it proves he’s got no intention of uniting the party. A warning sign to the “small c” conservatives who support independence that Chris alludes to that their principles and values don’t have a home in his “big tent”.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

An exceptionally dim-witted move. Whatever her beliefs, naked political calculation ought to have warned him against publicly humiliating a rival who got almost as many leadership votes as he did. He had better hope the winds are at his back for the next couple of years because if for a moment it looks like he’s not steering the ship to another impressive victory there are now a heck of a lot of people who will be less inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, or show loyalty.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

27 of the 28 that have Ministerial/Cabinet posts publicly backed Yousaf.

The other tweeted they couldn’t back an FM who would have voted against same sex marriage on about day 3 of the campaign.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

At least we all know what to expect for the next 2-3 years. Forbes has landed on her feet here, she can sit on the backbenches while she pops out a young family, then challenge for the leadership again when Useless makes a mess of things in 2026.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

Do you think he will last that long, Chris? He’s not been successful in any of his previous ministerial posts and he’s already made his first mistake which resulted in the candidate scoring just less than him in votes telling him where he can stick his offer of a junior position in his Cabinet.

So he’s already got nearly half the party against him and his current supporters will soon become disillusioned with his incompetence.

He won’t last five minutes.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

I’m not even sure it’ll take that long.

If Scottish Labour (despite their own uselessness) make inroads at a likely Starmer win at the next general election, the prospect of aligning their manifesto for 2026 with UK Government objectives (but better under devolution) might see a nervousness among MSPs fearful for their own seat on the gravy train.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

One thing I haven't heard mention is where are the SNP going to get the money they need to run Scotland, as more people live in London than live in Scotland.


I guess the Indy voters are wearing blinkers until the realise that their free prescriptions and uni will suddenly end.

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

Fairly even handed analysis here…

https://www.economicsobservatory.com...onomic-success

Re: Will Scotland Leave the UK?
 

The new leader is described by his family as "Naughty (been done for speeding amongst other gaffes), but nice

His friends say that people underestimate him at their peril in this 15 minute profile of him at the weekend:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001kprv