Humza Yousaf is failing to further the independence cause

When Nicola Sturgeon stepped down as leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland a year ago, she said she’d reached the conclusion that she could no further advance the cause of independence. It was time for a new leader with new ideas to energise the campaign to break up the United Kingdom.

Responsibility for invigorating the separatist movement fell to Humza Yousaf, voted in as First Minister on 29 March 2023 with the promise that he’d lead the nation to new highs. If Sturgeon had become too divisive, playing a key role in the creation of a constitutional deadlock, Yousaf would encourage unionist voters to think again about the benefits of independence.

Twelve months on, it is safe to say that the current First Minister has failed to come close to achieving that objective. A recent poll shows that, while a majority of voters remain pro-devolution, more than half think the Scottish parliament has served them well.