Humza Yousaf's SNP is giving Yessers an uneasy sense of deja vu

Yes, but probably not for leadership of the SNP. In the past few days, there’s been surprise and some confusion over Chris Hanlon’s announcement that he has nomination papers for the position of party leader and is deciding whether or not to stand.

It seems there might be sufficient backers within the party, but not enough time to zip around branches during peak holiday time before nominations close on August 10 – three months before the actual conference in Aberdeen between October 15-17.

So, with the prospect of an expensive campaign he will doubtless lose and the certainty of mega-pelters for re-opening the painful election process so soon, it seems unlikely his nomination forms will be sent off to party HQ over the next fortnight.

But sources close to the former SNP policy convener say that was never the point.

READ MORE: SNP activist launches bid to oust Humza Yousaf as party leader

The worry among some in the party is that Yousaf’s promising start at the Dundee Convention could easily falter, with a return to the corporate, top-down leadership style favoured by Nicola Sturgeon. Nothing in the SNP rule book lets members and conference delegates stop that happening and re-assert the primacy of party conference over members of the parliamentary party who’ve grown accustomed to “freelancing” and making policy “on the hoof”.

Already, Yousaf has speculated in the media about what the new independence policy will be – seats rather than a share of the vote in a Westminster – not Holyrood –election. Many would have preferred him to say all such questions will be decided democratically at the October conference. End of. There was also some upset at the early deadline set for motions, extended after some protest.

Even so, few branches have met in July and even fewer motions will likely be debated, drafted and ready for submission on time. Those familiar with the “bad old days” are having a strong sense of deja vu.

But are these grumbles enough to justify such an early pop at Humza Yousaf’s leadership? Indeed, if most agree that his leadership ain’t broke, why try to fix it, especially with the media and Unionist opponents looking on with glee?

The answer seems to be that changing the rules is extremely difficult – as battle-hardened veterans of conferences past will testify. Hanlon himself tried to establish a unit that would give regular feedback to delegates on the progress of conference policy – backed by others like Alyn Smith and Toni Giugliano. The proposal didn’t get selected for debate.

There’s also been anger over the Scottish Government’s decision to ignore massive conference backing for ideas like the creation of a National Energy Company, without explaining why it was impractical.

Equally, every year branches submit motions on land reform in the sure and certain knowledge they will never be selected for debate.

Even so, is all of this enough reason to re-open Pandora’s Box by hinting at a leadership bid, four months after the last one?

It does feel as if a stage in the reform process has been missed.

But Hanlon is old school. He wants conference to be sovereign – or as sovereign as it possibly can be since the party leader is also First Minister and must solve daily problems without waiting for instruction by conference.

Indeed, the Labour Party – where conference once reigned supreme – have long since abandoned the idea of delegates mandating MPs in favour of corporate, presidential-style annual events full of rictus grins, self-congratulatory motions and such iron control over the agenda that not the slightest whiff of dissent is detected among delegates.

It’s safe, it’s boring, it’s almost undemocratic and yet it’s the template of choice for all party managers, including those of the SNP.

The question is whether Peter Murrell has taken such stylised leadership by diktat away with him, or whether the all-powerful conference committee is still primed to screen out motions deemed awkward for debate. And, I suppose, the other question is how much members actually care about the absence of robust old-style conference debates.

Fa kens.

But with no other chance to mount a challenge to Yousaf’s leadership before the General Election, some members have decided to put a marker in the ground; a sign there will be no return to blind loyalty – a warning shot across the First Minister’s bows.

Some might say the warning shot has been more like an unguided ricochet. Whatever.

READ MORE: 'The UK is not a Union of equals and never was', Labour grandee insists

It strikes me, SNP members must plan ahead and cannot risk sleepwalking into an October conference that will define the future for Scotland’s largest Yes party and independence itself.

Of course, members should be strategising. Of course, the 2023 conference cannot be a faded version of the past 10 corporate years.

For one thing, delegates have been set an unusually precise task – to decide independence strategy for 2024. For another, Yousaf has already reconnected a standoffish SNP leadership with the wider Yes movement. By the time October 15 rolls around, he will have spoken at a rally on September 2, organised by Believe in Scotland and Yes for EU – and we will see if SNP branches have pitched up and rallied round their new leader.

We’ll also see if the “First Activist” backs the Chain of Freedom – the bid by two Highland-based women to have 70,000 folk hold hands across the canal network of the central belt declaring support for independence on October 14 (the day before the SNP conference in Aberdeen).

That’s a tricky decision.

The SNP leadership clearly feels it’s come a long way from the automatic veto on grassroots events that held sway during Sturgeon’s time at the top. But there’s still fear about backing events that contain swingeing criticism of the SNP and relying on activists to deliver ambitious goals.

Unfortunately, nature abhors a vacuum in street protest as in everything else. So, the SNP’s unwillingness to organise their own marches and rallies these past 10 years has encouraged others to fill a sizeable gap.

And thank God for that.

Disempowerment is one of Scotland’s greatest problems – so now the SNP are cranking back into life they will find streets that are far from empty and not theirs to control.

This might be naive but here’s a proposition.

If Yessers must feel the fear of disappointment by a new SNP leader, but decide to back him anyway, then the SNP might take a deep breath and push out the boat too.

Why not offer cash-strapped Yes groups places on SNP buses to the September 2 rally? Why not create a special area within the conference for Yes movement stalls that don’t cost an arm and a leg? And why not urge members to pitch up at Yes events?

The problem for Yousaf is that he has started well – and hopes are high that the days of wheeshting for indy, endless waiting and polite exclusion are over.

Raised expectations are always hard to manage. But it’s worth remembering – they are also a sign of hope returning.

That precious thing.

Against all the odds.