Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Humza Yousaf told to make Highlander MSP Kate Forbes deputy first minister – or face SNP ‘doomsday’

The SNP leader should promote his former rival for the top job, and drop the Greens from government, according to one ex SNP minister.

Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf. Image: Supplied
Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf. Image: Supplied

Humza Yousaf has been urged to offer Kate Forbes the job of deputy first minister as part of a radical overhaul to avoid “doomsday” for the SNP at the next general election.

Yousaf said the party will reflect, regroup and come back stronger after a crushing defeat to Labour in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.

A 20.4% swing to Labour saw Michael Shanks secure 17,845 votes – more than double the number polled by the SNP’s Katy Loudon.

Just hours after the result was confirmed, splits emerged over the SNP’s independence strategy and power sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.

Former health secretary Alex Neil believes the buck must stop with Mr Yousaf – and he urged the first minister to take steps to reunite the party.

Former SNP minister Alex Neil. Image: Shutterstock.

He wants to see Ms Forbes brought back into the fold and the Greens kicked out of government in favour of ministers “who can actually do the bloody job”.

She was dropped as the SNP’s finance chief earlier this year after being defeated by Yousaf in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader.

‘This cannot be treated lightly’

Mr Neil said: “My thoughts all along were that we were going to take quite a hammering, and unfortunately that has been the case.

“My view is that this cannot just be treated lightly.

“I think we now very clearly need urgent action by the leadership to overhaul both policies and personnel, and I think Humza should have a cabinet reshuffle and bring in Kate Forbes as the deputy first minister and finance minister.

“He needs to bring more talent into the cabinet, people who are more experienced and who can do the job.”

Kate Forbes lost out to Humza Yousaf in the competition to replace Nicola Sturgeon. Image: PA

Mr Neil, who is regarded as an SNP stalwart, is one of a number of big names who are planning to stay away from the party’s conference in Aberdeen later this month.

He is not calling for Yousaf to be replaced as leader but warns swift action is needed.

“What we need is radical change – not Mr Continuity,” Neil said.

“I believe the situation can be turned round and we don’t need to be facing doomsday next year if we get our act together and get it together quickly.”

Defeat is a ‘wake up call’

Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice predicts Labour will take 40 out of 59 seats in Scotland if the party’s swing of more than 20% in Rutherglen is replicated nationally at the next election.

Ash Regan, who competed against Yousaf and Forbes in this year’s leadership contest, described the loss as a wake up call for the SNP.

Meanwhile, Stewart McDonald, the SNP MP for Glasgow South, said the party must think deeply about why it was “skelped” at the ballot box.

Margaret Ferrier MP speaking in Parliament shortly before testing positive for Covid. Image: Supplied

He believes the turnout and result point to issues more fundamental than the Covid rule breaking of former MP Margaret Ferrier that led to the vote or the ongoing police investigation into SNP finances.

The defeat has also led to renewed scrutiny of Mr Yousaf’s plan to start independence talks if his party wins the most seats at the next election.

The proposal will be debated by SNP members at their annual conference.

Some believe the cost of living crisis rather than the constitution should be the main focus of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Labour has vowed to work constructively with the Scottish Government if it wins power at Westminster.

Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said a Labour-run Scotland Office would use co-operation rather than conflict to deliver for communities.

The current Scotland Office has often been at odds with the Scottish Government, fighting three court battles in recent years over the incorporation of UN treaties into Scots law, independence and gender reforms.

Conversation