Scottish voters overwhelmed by the cost of living want Humza Yousaf to “get a grip and listen” to their struggles, as previous SNP supporters discuss the appeal of revitalised Scottish Labour.
As Yousaf reaches 100 days as first minister this week, members of a focus group convened by More in Common UK agree his public profile is not as strong as his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, despite divergent views on her recent arrest.
Younger voters in particular revealed that, despite their ongoing support for independence, more immediate concerns about heating and housing trump their appetite for another referendum.
“Personally I find him a bit bland, a bit wishy-washy,” said Jenny, 48, who works as a cleaner. “Nicola Sturgeon was quite feisty, and she wasn’t scared to speak out.”
But others accept that their view of Yousaf as “quiet” though “level-headed” may be in contrast to Sturgeon’s ubiquity on their screens during the Covid pandemic.
“He seems a lot quieter but we’ve got to give him a chance,” said Cameron, 59, a recovery driver. “He’s only been in power for three months and he’s got a big shoe to fill.”
Yousaf has faced a turbulent early tenure, dominated by a slump in the polls for his party – although support for independence has held firm – and relentless policy challenges passed on from the previous administration. There has also been bruising scrutiny of SNP governance and transparency, after the arrests of Sturgeon, her husband and the party’s former chief executive, Peter Murrell, as well as the party’s former treasurer Colin Beattie. All have been released without charge.
Although Sturgeon has resolutely protested her innocence, some voters said the arrests and attendant social media rumours had left “a bad taste”.
“I really liked Nicola,” said Caitlin, 27, a sheltered housing coordinator, who credits the former first minister with raising her nursing bursary at university but now links her alleged behaviour to Boris Johnson’s Covid transgressions. “I wouldn’t have expected that from Nicola and because of that I don’t know if I’ll ever trust another politician again.”
But others were quick to underline that “no charges have been brought”, likening her treatment to “a kangaroo court”.
“They don’t want Scotland to go independent so they’re trying to get rid of the SNP by saying they’re all corrupt,” said Jenny.
All respondents were based in the Westminster constituency of Lanark and Hamilton East, historically a Labour safe seat which was taken by the SNP in 2015, before becoming Britain’s tightest three-way marginal in 2017 – these voters are now targets for the Scottish labour leader, Anas Sarwar.
“He’s a really strong leader,” said Bobby, 50, a project manger. “I wish he was in the SNP.” He adds: “A lot of people in Scotland are tactical and might vote for Labour in the national elections just to get the Conservatives out.”
Scottish Labour have become “a completely different party” in recent years, said Kieren, 26, who works in IT support and is tempted to vote for them at the next election.
But this group, who all voted for the SNP in the 2019 general election, are also those who Yousaf will try to persuade that the SNP is still the political vehicle for a second referendum – just as polling suggests a decoupling of party support from constitutional preferences.
Yousaf’s preferred independence strategy, which he unveiled at a special party convention less than a fortnight ago, has yet to cut through to these voters, who all support independence in principle but diverge on the urgency of a second referendum.
For Fiona, 26, a carer, “cost of living and the housing market should take priority”.
“We’ve got old people freezing in their own homes, so there’s more important things that need to be dealt with first,” adds Kieren.
But for Bobby, independence is the best route to tackle these problems. “The change we need is independence where they’ve then got some proper powers to make changes that actually count.”
Luke Tryl, director of More in Common UK, said: “It is telling that while they thought it was still too soon to judge Humza Yousaf’s performance, this group of voters, who backed the SNP at the last general election, worried he so far lacked his predecessor’s strength and presence.”
Continuity or clearing the decks?
Despite being seen as Sturgeon’s favoured successor, since he took office, Yousaf has scrapped or substantially revised a series of her government’s flagship policies.
Highly protected marine areas
Just before the Holyrood parliament broke for summer recess, the Scottish government ditched marine protection plans after furious backlash that united coastal communities and all sectors of the fishing industry. Proposals to implement highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) that would impose strict limits on human activity such as fishing, aquaculture and tourism in at least 10% of Scotland’s waters by 2026 were shelved in favour of further community consultation.
Deposit return scheme
Yousaf first delayed the controversial recycling scheme for bottles and cans until March 2024, then it was put back again until at least October 2025, with Scottish ministers accusing the UK government of “sabotage” after it said it would only grant an exemption from the Internal Market Act – needed for the scheme to proceed – if it excluded glass. But businesses had already expressed deep concerns about the extra costs and burdens of the scheme.
Alcohol advertising
The first minister pledged to take plans to restrict alcohol advertising – which had come under fire from the drinks sector – “back to the drawing board” in his first major policy statement in April.
National care service
In the same statement, he said he wanted to take more time to build consensus around plans to merge social care, elderly care, family support and community healthcare into a single service, which local council leaders argued would be unjustifiably costly and disruptive at a time of financial crisis.
De facto referendum
Yousaf told SNP members at a special convention on independence strategy at the end of June that a win at the next general election should be a mandate to apply further pressure on Westminster for the powers to hold another referendum. This appeared to be a significant retreat on the de facto plan put forward by Sturgeon after the supreme court ruled last October that Holyrood could not hold a second vote without Westminster’s consent.
Sturgeon had suggested that if more than half of votes were cast for parties in favour of independence, the Scottish government would regard that as a mandate to pursue negotiations, but Yousaf clarified that a win would be measured in terms of parliamentary seats rather than percentage of votes.
