HUMZA Yousaf is to campaign in Dundee on Saturday as part of the SNP’s National Campaign Day – and has called on all party members to join him on doorsteps across the country.
To mark one month since becoming leader of the party, the First Minister will be in his home city campaigning with local activists and visiting a local charity working on the frontline to help individuals and families combat poverty.
He is expected to be joined by Deputy First Minister Shona Robison and Joe Fitzpatrick MSP.
Yousaf, commenting on the day of action, encouraged members to turn out and referenced the rising SNP membership, noting the party “don’t take that support for granted”.
It is understood that the current membership number is now above 74,800 after numbers fell by 30,000 in little over a year, leaving 72,186 people in the party.
Yousaf said: “There is no doubt that the last few weeks have been challenging for the SNP. Yet, our party membership is on the rise, support for independence remains strong and the SNP continues to lead by some distance in the polls.
“We don’t take that support for granted, which is why the SNP is doing everything we can to protect Scots from the brunt of heartless Westminster policy, despite having one hand tied behind our back.”
The National Campaign Day takes place as the SNP gears up for the next Westminster election, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly set out plans for in autumn 2024 in the belief that a vote later in the year could result in victory for the Conservatives.
Yousaf referred to the current cost of living crisis as a likely top concern on the doorsteps this weekend, and the vision he and other activists will put forward to the electorate.
He said: “People in Scotland are struggling to eat, pay their bills and heat their homes – in 2023 that is a travesty.
“Backed by Labour, the Tories have ripped Scotland out of the EU, crashed our economy by gambling with mortgages, pensions and household incomes, and inflicted this cost of living crisis on households across the country.
“I became involved in politics to help build a fairer Scotland free from inequality and poverty - those principles will be one of the defining missions of my SNP Government.
“I am proud of the SNP’s record in government, and I am privileged to lead our party every single day, and with an election on the horizon, it’s time to take the fight to Westminster and offer voters in Scotland real change with independence.”
Activists are expected to hit doorsteps across sthe country, specifically in the possible upcoming by-election constituency of disgraced former SNP representative Margaret Ferrier, Rutherglen and Hamilton West .
It comes after the First Minister called for action in the Labour target seat and across the whole of Scotland in a video to members earlier this week.
