Humble pie for Yousaf's doubters - but big challenges still lie ahead

In what was an excellent debut performance at First Minister’s Questions yesterday, he stamped his authority on the Chamber and underlined that a refreshed Cabinet and party will mean a rejuvenated and refocused campaign for Scottish independence.

The same can’t be said for the opposition benches, which rehearsed the same tired old arguments they have been wheeling out for years.

Tory leader Douglas Ross continues to exhibit an absolute refusal to credit politicians with the ability to think of more than one thing at a time.

In Ross’s world, the creation of a new minister for independence is a sign that the SNP are taking their eye off the economy, poverty, climate change and every other issue currently demanding attention.

The truth is that independence will allow the Scottish Government to properly tackle those issues, set free of the unjust, unpopular and unsuccessful policies of a Westminster government dedicated to helping its rich friends at the expense of struggling voters.

The cost of living crisis is a creation of the Union so it is hardly surprising that the Union and those who embrace it are uninterested in easing its effect on the millions whose lives are now more difficult than they have been in decades.

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I believe the creation of the new post of Minister for Independence – a post now held by Jamie Hepburn – is an essential step to moving forward the campaign for independence with renewed vigour and vision.

For some time now, it has been obvious that the job of first minister is too big, too demanding and too onerous to also include responsibility for pulling together and giving direction to the push for independence. Had he not stepped up to become First Minister, Yousaf himself would have been ideal for the role.

When he spoke at The National’s independence rally, he delivered the speech of the day – inspiring, optimistic and spellbinding. He has other responsibilities now and it is right and proper that a new minister can focus all their attention on independence and explore some big and pressing problems.

Not least of these, of course, is to find a way through the impasse created by Westminster’s refusal to recognise the SNP’s mandate – repeated at election after election – for a second independence referendum. That refusal shows no sign of relaxing if the First Minister’s discussion with Rishi Sunak shortly after the leadership contest is anything to go by.

Nicola Sturgeon’s chosen solution, of course, was to treat the next Westminster election as a de facto independence referendum – but that wasn’t universally popular within the party. Even Sturgeon herself had to admit it wasn’t ideal.

It has in any case – to all intents and purposes – been shelved. It was not supported by any of the three candidates and the suggestion is no longer mentioned in polite circles.

It would be a shame if the planned SNP conference to allow party members a say disappeared along with the de facto referendum.

The chat around Hepburn’s appointment suggests his will be a back-room role, working behind the scenes to coordinate and increase activity by grassroots Yes campaign groups.

What could be more effective in reconnecting with party activists than an event which gives them an influence on the best route to independence?

It is early days to look for signals as to how the new first minister will move forward with independence, even if the first indications look hopeful. If the appointment of the new Cabinet says anything about Yousaf, it is that he is not quite the “continuity candidate” as assumed during the leadership contest.

ONLY three of Nicola Sturgeon’s previous cabinet survive – Angus Robertson (Constitution, External Affairs and Culture), Michael Matheson (NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care ) and Shirley-Anne Somerville (Social Justice). Other well-known faces return, including Angela Constance (Justice and Home Affairs) and Shona Robison (Deputy First Minister and Finance).

The overall shape of the Cabinet is quite different. Men are outnumbered by women – four men, six women – and half the Cabinet is under 40. The SNP have for some time been positioning themselves as the party of youth, not a dumb move when you consider a substantial majority of young people support independence. It’s hardly surprising that there is some focus on persuading them to actually vote.

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The new Cabinet may not have silenced critics like Ross, who had some expectedly harsh words at Holyrood yesterday, but the First Minister’s attempts to portray it as young, diverse and fresh had some credence.

We don’t yet know what the public thinks of the SNP’s new image, although it may have the chance to make its views known much earlier than expected.

For if Yousaf had allowed himself to hope for even a brief settling-in period at Bute House any such hope was shattered yesterday.

No sooner had the new Cabinet lined up for its first photo shoot, than it was faced with the prospect of a tricky by-election in the marginal Rutherglen and Hamilton West Westminster seat.

Labour must consider themselves lucky that the Commons Standards Committee yesterday recommended that Rutherglen’s sitting MP Margaret Ferrier be suspended from parliament for 30 days for breaching Covid regulations.

MPs are expected to confirm the recommended punishment, which would trigger a by-election if at least 10% of registered voters in the constituency sign a petition calling for it.

Labour must think they have a good chance of winning the seat they held in 2005 and 2010 – and won back from the SNP in 2017. Ferrier’s majority was 5230 when she won it back for the SNP in 2019.

But even if the by-election does go ahead there are big questions over the Commons Standards Committee’s recommendation.

On one hand, it’s hard to feel much sympathy for Ferrier. She had tested positive for Covid when she took the train home from London to Glasgow. At her subsequent trial, she was found guilty of breaching Covid rules and the court ruled that she had “exposed people to risk of infection, illness and death”.

Ferrier was sentenced to carry out 270 hours of a community payback order. She lost the SNP whip and has since sat as an Independent MP, steadfastly ignoring calls that she stands down as an MP, including from Sturgeon herself.

On the other hand, many will feel that punishments meted out by the Standards Committee should be consistent.

If Ferrier is banned from the Commons for 30 days then surely the same ban should be applied to Johnson and Sunak?

Both the former and current prime minister were fined by the Met Police for attending parties in Downing Street, in breach of lockdown rules. At the time both suggested that the fines they received were punishment enough and both refused to resign.

Johnson is still under investigation by Westminster’s Privileges Committee for misleading Parliament over partygate. The Ferrier recommendation is already throwing the Tories into a panic.

Three of the four Tories on the Standards Committee looking into the complaints voted for a shorter, nine-day parliamentary ban, short enough to avoid the need for a by-election.

Presumably, they had one eye on the Johnson investigation and did not want their leader to face a 30-day ban and therefore the prospect of a by-election.

I happen to think that Ferrier made a bad mistake and should have resigned. It’s embarrassing that she’s holding on for dear life until a by-election forces her out.

But if the correct punishment for her is to lose her seat, the correct punishment for Johnson – whose offence is even greater, given his punishment and his arrogance – is at least as severe.

A by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West is a test for Yousaf before he has had time to properly establish himself in the eye of the public. I’m confident it is a test he will pass.