For all his praising of Nicola Sturgeon’s governance and Peter Murrell as an ‘election winner’, it now looks as though continuity candidate Humza Yousaf is cutting ties with the SNP establishment. Questioned on the raid of his predecessor’s house and the party’s Edinburgh headquarters, Yousaf has, for the first time, dared to criticise his former boss.
Speaking to journalists at his official residence Bute House today, Yousaf commented that he was ‘very, very clear that the governance of the party was not as it should be’ and that ‘a review of transparency…is clearly needed’.
Questioned on how the new First Minister will keep an eye on party finances, he replied: ‘I want to make sure these issues do not just rely on one individual but we have a structure in place in headquarters that is one that has oversight on good governance. And it does not rely on one person.’ A nod towards the Murrell-Sturgeon style of working, perhaps?
And the criticism extended further as Yousaf made a direct dig at his former mentor, saying that Sturgeon being married to the party’s former chief executive was ‘just one example…that the governance of the party was not as it should be’.
Is the First Minister’s stance convincing? Only a week ago, he was paying tribute to the ‘exceptional’ former party leader and before that frowning down Kate Forbes’s criticism of and ‘personal attacks’ on the SNP. Yet hours after Murrell’s arrest, Yousaf has not just distanced himself from the SNP’s former power couple, he has launched a very visible attack on the party’s previous leadership.
It appears that the establishment candidate is fast learning that continuity will not, after all, cut it.
