Jamie Halcro Johnston: This First Minister is just another Central Belt nationalist
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It’s hard to imagine a more chaotic few weeks for Scottish politics.
As the dust settled on the SNP’s turbulent leadership contest, the winning Party HQ-backed continuity candidate, Humza Yousaf, had his plans for another independence referendum almost immediately rejected by the UK government.
Then, having offered Kate Forbes a job he clearly wanted her to reject, his purge of anyone in the Scottish Government with actual business experience forced some SNP MSPs to form an anti-Yousaf group against him.
And then at his first FMQs, he made bogus claims about Scottish GDP growing more than the UK when the opposite is true. Two days in and already lying about economic performance.
But worse was to come.
I don’t think there will be many who weren’t shocked by the sight of Police Scotland searching Nicola Sturgeon’s home and the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
Nor at the news that Sturgeon’s husband, former party Chief Executive Peter Murrell, had been arrested by police as part of their investigation into the SNP’s finances.
Murrell was later released without charge “pending further investigations”, which we might expect to take some time given the number of evidence boxes police took out of both searched properties.
And all of this came only weeks after Yousaf had praised Murrell as a “proven winner” who he wanted to continue as the party’s top official.
While Nicola Sturgeon’s time as SNP Leader ended with policy failures and broken promises, Humza Yousaf’s had started with party division and police raids.
And this chaotic “honeymoon period”, came on the back of Yousaf’s 10 year record as part of an SNP administration that has overseen only decline in Scotland’s public services.
Folk will remember his time as Transport Minister and the part he played in the worsening ferries crisis and in failing to deliver the promised A9 dualling.
Or his time as Health Secretary, with increasing centralisation and local health services – like urgent care in Skye or maternity services in Caithness and in Moray - either reduced or cut entirely.
And now as First Minister, Humza Yousaf chose to ditch the role of Tourism Minister but appointed a new taxpayer-funded minister for independence on a £100,000 salary.
What an appalling message to send to a tourism and hospitality sector that is so important to us here in the Highlands.
This First Minister is just another Central Belt nationalist with no more interest in the Highlands and Islands than the last, and whose priorities are throwing red meat to the decreasing number of independence supporters.
I expected little of him as First Minister. But only weeks into the role, Humza Yousaf has already managed to limbo under those low expectations I had.
