Will this Scottish by-election bring down the SNP?

The first by-election in Scotland since the SNP’s change of leadership is a huge test for First Minister Humza Yousaf. If the nationalists lose the seat of Rutherglen and Hamilton West, made vacant when constituents recalled their MP Margaret Ferrier after she broke Covid rules, Yousaf will face difficult questions about his party’s direction of travel.

Unlike his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon — who dominated her party and enjoyed the support of the vast majority of its members — the current First Minister firmly divides opinion among the SNP rank and file. In this year’s leadership election, he barely scraped together enough support to ensure victory and almost half of SNP members preferred other candidates. The loss of Rutherglen and Hamilton West will surely convince them that they were right not to think him up to the job.