SNP in Total Meltdown: How Mounting Crises Impede the Strategy of Scotland’s New First Minister

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf is facing increasing crises within his party, which observers see as being in a state of complete collapse, especially with police investigations into possible financial irregularities in the party.

The inquiry is the latest in a string of political upheavals that have rocked Scotland’s ruling party, which sought independence in a 2014 referendum.

Although the majority of Yousaf’s recently-announced policies are related to local issues, they reflect Yousaf’s endeavor to rebuild the party, in addition to Yousaf’s delay or redrawing of his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon’s key policies.

In the same context, the hashtag #SNPmeltdown was trending on Twitter, as the British discussed the recent events that took place within the Scottish National Party (SNP) and their impact on the party’s position and future plans.

 

Political Upheavals

The SNP is facing an unprecedented crisis, in light of police investigations into suspected financial irregularities, as senior officials in the party have been investigated so far.

On April 5, police arrested and released without charge Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband, who also served as the SNP’s former chief executive.

On 18 April, the long-term treasurer of the party, Colin Beattie, was arrested as part of the investigation. He spent around 11 hours in police custody before he was also released without charge pending further investigation.

Although he was released without charge, Beattie resigned after nearly 19 years in office.

Sturgeon was the party’s leader for eight years before she unexpectedly announced last February she would quit.

Murrell was the SNP’s chief executive for 24 years before he suddenly resigned last March in a row over the SNP’s failure to disclose the party’s real membership figures.

The police are investigating the party’s spending of about £666,953 ($745,000) that was earmarked for the independence referendum, and also investigating Morel’s borrowing of £107,620 in June 2021 when Murrell was the party’s chief executive.

But the loan was announced late, and the SNP made two payments later that year, leaving £60,000 of the loan.

Sturgeon and Murrell were regarded as wielding significant power over how the SNP was run, a concern acknowledged by their supporters, including Humza Yousaf.

She later denied her husband’s impending arrest was anything to do with her decision, and said she had no prior knowledge he was to be arrested.

Yousaf is facing calls from within his party to suspend the membership of Sturgeon and everyone involved in the financial scandal until the end of the investigations, which could cause further division in the party.

The police investigation into the SNP’s finances could be the party’s biggest crisis in 50 years, said Mike Russell, the ruling party’s president and former minister.

Russell told Scottish newspaper The Herald that he did not think that independence from the UK could be secured right now.

After Murrell’s arrest, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf criticized his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon’s management of the SNP’s finances, promising more transparency in the party.

Yousaf acknowledged the existence of genuine concerns among voters who objected to the approach of the previous administration of the party, noting that this led to a significant decrease in the number of party members, especially after the resignation of 30,000 members over the past two years.

Yousaf distanced himself from Sturgeon’s policies, saying: “The SNP needs more openness with its members, in addition to imposing legal accountability.” But he added that Peter Murrell is innocent until proven guilty.

Yousaf rejected claims by his rivals in the independence movement, who suggested that the Scottish police may have secretly arranged the date for the raid with Sturgeon and the SNP.

He also commented after the arrest of Beattie by saying; “I don’t believe my party is behaving in a criminal manner,” but he has refused to suspend Beattie from his mission as the party’s chief of finance, stressing that “people are innocent until proven guilty.”

Leaked emails that appeared at the end of last week, referring to Sturgeon, blocked plans to appoint an independent director to oversee donations, despite concerns about transparency at the time.

 

Partisan Division

In his first announcement of his upcoming plans, PM Humza Yousaf presented a new vision for his next three years in government that delays or redraws his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon’s key policies, seeking to rectify the situation and focus on the Scottish government’s agenda, as reported by The Guardian in its report on April 18, 2023.

Yousaf is the first Muslim in Europe to hold a position of this magnitude. He was elected last month as the SNP leader and then as Scotland’s First Minister, given that the party enjoys the majority in the Scottish Parliament.

Although the majority of the policies announced on April 18 related to local issues, some related to waste recycling, others in the field of education, or alcohol restrictions and advertisements, and business sector problems, they reflect Yousaf’s efforts to rebuild the party after it seemed that the party’s first goal, which is to hold a new referendum on independence from the UK, had diminished support for him among the Scots.

Yousaf said during his meeting with representatives of the business sector, he will focus on three missions, addressing the problem of poverty, building a just and green developing economy, and improving public services.

But he faced criticism from opposition parties in Scotland, accusing his party of failing over the past years.

His opponents spoke of the division in the party after Sturgeon’s departure and the narrow election of a new leader, and the financial scandal being investigated by the police, noting that this would divert Yousaf’s attention from pressing issues, such as the file of health services and wastewater being dumped into rivers, to focus on the issue of reforming his party.

Signs of division appeared in the party after Yousaf’s competitors in the party leadership elections refused to take any positions in the new Scottish government, especially his rival Kate Forbes, who came second with a narrow margin to Yousaf.

Forbes warned that voters are observing what is happening in the party, warning that the party will be in trouble in the general elections in Britain expected next year, without decisive and urgent action.

Forbes’ warnings came in the light of investigations into party officials over the use of donations earmarked for the second referendum campaign.

Forbes told the BBC; This case raises questions about trust and transparency.

She explained that the party is at a very critical moment, and the response and reaction will determine how big the problem is for the SNP.

Critics of the opposition parties in Scotland believe that the focus of the SNP during the fifteen years in which it assumed power on the issue of independence has weakened the performance of institutions and services in Scotland, and that the government is not playing its role effectively.

In July 2021, Police Scotland launched a formal investigation into the SNP’s finances after receiving complaints about how donations were used.

Questions had been raised about funds given to the party for use in a fresh independence referendum campaign.

Seven people made complaints, and a probe was set up following talks with prosecutors.

Sturgeon, then first minister and SNP leader, had insisted that she was not concerned about the party’s finances.

She said that every penny of cash raised in online crowdfunding campaigns would be spent on the independence drive.