Humza Yousaf’s government is adrift, of that there can be no doubt. The question is how much longer the drift will be allowed to continue before the SNP leader corrects course. In the four months since he replaced Nicola Sturgeon, Yousaf has staggered from one catastrophe to another.
The First Minister has seen his predecessor and other senior figures arrested (and released without charge) by police investigating the SNP’s financial affairs. His government’s flagship deposit return scheme has imploded after failing to gain the support of business and Westminster. He has been forced to U-turn on plans to ban fishing in 10 per cent of Scottish waters. A scandal-wracked ferry-building project, which has failed to complete a single vessel in eight years, has recorded another rise in costs. One of his MPs now sits as an independent while a further eight — almost one-fifth of the SNP Westminster group — have announced they are quitting at the next election.
Health is the First Minister’s weakest point
When a government is taking fire from every direction, it tends to become defensive and reactive in outlook.
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