Scottish independence ‘dead’ after Humza Yousaf SNP win, says Labour

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Scottish Tories’ constitution spokesperson Donald Cameron said Scots would be “astonished and dismayed that, within minutes of being elected SNP leader, Humza Yousaf’s focus was on the SNP’s default obsession with independence”. open image in gallery Humza Yousaf says he hopes to rely on the guidance of Nicola Sturgeon Polling guru Professor John Curtice said that surveys conducted during the contest showed Mr Yousaf had “limited appeal for those outside the SNP” and suggested that the close result showed the new leader “is also not especially popular with the party faithful either”. Writing in The Independent, Prof Curtice said: “Mr Yousaf now has to show he has the ability to craft and sell a persuasive case – otherwise independence will continue to look a rather elusive goal.” Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the end of the Sturgeon era will make it “easier for us to achieve a Labour government”, with party strategists hoping to win 20 seats at the next general election. Calling on the SNP leader to hold a Holyrood election when he becomes first minister on Tuesday, Mr Sarwar told the BBC: “I don’t think Humza Yousaf is up to the task, to be frank, of the big challenges now facing Scotland.” Mr Yousaf said in his victory speech on Monday: “To those in Scotland who don’t quite yet share that passion that I do for independence, I will aim to earn your trust by continuing to ensure that we govern well focusing on the priorities that matter to all of us.” The result will come as a relief for the SNP’s coalition partners, the Scottish Greens, who unanimously voted to support Mr Yousaf in his bid to be first minister.