After a tumultuous fortnight which has seen serious questions raised over the propriety of SNP financial and internal management procedures, former party member and Junior Defence Spokesman Stuart Crawford thinks they need to draw a line under proceedings and go back to the beginning.
Observing the turmoil in which his former party now finds itself, he said: ‘I can’t see that there’s any way for new party leader and First Minister Humza Yousaf to hold the party and movement together. By banishing his leadership opponents to the back benches he has effectively split the SNP down the middle.’
‘The description of being the continuity candidate is now a millstone around his neck. Nobody, but nobody, wants a continuation of what went before under the Murrell/Sturgeon regime. It’s little wonder that Yousaf is now trying to do a reverse ferret and call everything that went on previously into question.’
‘It is, however, all too late. His position is now fatally holed below the waterline and before too long he will be sunk. His election is so tainted by the skullduggery of the process that he has no credibility as First Minister and his party is bombing in the polls and public opinion.’
‘The best thing the SNP and Yousaf could do now is to draw a line under what has gone before and start afresh. A new leadership election would be a good place to begin, either to confirm his position or to allow the party membership to think again.’
‘But they won’t do it, of course. The SNP is now a party where independence is off the agenda and it’s all about retaining power and people keeping their jobs.’
Lt Col Stuart Crawford is a defence analyst and former army officer. Sign up for his newsletters at www.DefenceReview.uk