Alex Salmond claims Humza Yousaf has days to save his job in a stark response to an SNP campaign which saw Labour claim a “seismic” by-election win.
The former first minister, a veteran north-east SNP politican, has been a vocal critic of Mr Yousaf’s leadership and Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy.
But within hours of the SNP’s defeat in Rutherglen and Hamilton West on Friday morning, he claimed Mr Yousaf’s job could be on the line.
“The SNP fought an incompetent campaign in an unnecessary by-election and were comprehensively dropped by Labour,” Mr Salmond said.
“I see that Humza says it’s disappointing, well I don’t think that quite gets the enormity of what he’s facing.
“In my view, Humza’s got days to save his first ministership.”
‘Buck stops with me’
Mr Yousaf said he will reflect on the loss.
Earlier, the first minister in part blamed the Covid rules breach by former MP Margaret Ferrier – which led to the by-election – and the police investigations into SNP finances.
He said: “The buck does absolutely stop me, but I think everybody knows this particular by-election had some very difficult contextual factors around it.”
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn told BBC Radio Scotland on Friday morning that it cannot be “business as usual” within the party.
Labour are now talking up nearly every seat in Scotland as a potential win.
Top targets include the Western Isles, where candidate Torcuil Crichton hopes to flip it from the SNP.
However, most of the north-east and Highlands are likely to be a totally different contest.
Lib Dems are stronger in the rural north. And the polarised Tory-SNP fight has allowed Conservatives to claim their Rutherglen drubbing will not be repeated everywhere.
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie said the unionist vote fell in line behind Labour in the by-election to block the SNP.
“Across much of Scotland though, that party best placed to stop the SNP, is the Scottish Tories,” he claimed.
Predictions for north and north-east
Alan Faulds, who runs online election site Ballot Box Scotland, said the biggest risk for the SNP in the north-east would be voters staying at home.
“The Aberdeen seats are really interesting,” he said. “I think they’re potentially going to be impacted by a degree of voter confusion.”
Labour and Tories might position themselves as the most likely unionist challenger, splitting the vote.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn is MP for Aberdeen South.
On the Western Isles, he said: “If I was Torcuil Crichton I would have been beside myself with glee when I saw that Angus MacNeil said he was going to stand as an independent.
“That’s going to take what was already a seat that was quite difficult for the SNP to hold into one where he’s potentially going to be laughing his way down to Westminster.”
In a victory rally on Friday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told delighted supporters: “They said that we couldn’t win in the south of England and the north of England, and we did it. They said ‘you’ll never beat the SNP in Scotland’ and Rutherglen, you did it. You blew the doors off.”
The results
- Labour candidate Mr Shanks secured 17,845 votes.
- SNP candidate Katy Loudon received 8,399 votes.
- Mr Shanks has a majority of 9,446.
- He gained more than 58% of the votes cast.
- Labour now has two MPs in Scotland, far off the 41 returned in 2010 which the party hopes to get back to.
- The Conservative candidate, Thomas Kerr, won 1,192 votes.
- Turnout was 37%.
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