Humza Yousaf can't brag about a government of all talents when opponents brand him 'Humza Useless'
Humza Yousaf has not tried for consensus in his party. Nine out of 10 of the top jobs in the Scottish government including his own have gone to his supporters. None of the 11 MSPs who endorsed his rival Kate Forbes have been appointed.
Friday 31 March 2023 09:55, UK
The raw statistics of this week's SNP leadership contest sent shivers down the spines of many who pour over the details of UK politics.
52% for the new party leader Humza Yousaf and 48% for the rejected Kate Forbes, with only 2,142 votes separating them narrowly in a 72% turnout by the electorate, which, in this case, consisted of the Scottish National Party's shrinking membership.
That pattern of a close but decisive victory looked strangely familiar. Had we seen it somewhere before? Ah, yes - the 2016 national referendum on EU membership, when Leave prevailed over Remain by 52% to 48% on a 70% turnout.
Wherever the British public stood, and stands now, on Europe - yes, no, did not vote - there is a clear consensus in opinion polls that the aftermath has not been happy. We are more divided and no better off than we were before. Even the careers of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings, who led the triumphant campaign, have not ultimately prospered.
The problems stem not from the results or the democratic systems - known as majoritarianism - which delivered it. The damage is done afterwards when a narrow win is interpreted as "total victory" and the careers of the vanquished are put to the sword. Mr Yousaf seems to be rushing to make similar mistakes with Scotland and the SNP to those made by the Conservative leadership after 23 June 2016.
Mr Yousaf has not tried for consensus in his party. Nine out of 10 of the top jobs in the Scottish government including his own have gone to his supporters.
None of the 11 MSPs who endorsed Kate Forbes have been appointed. Keith Brown, the elected depute leader of the party, has been sacked as veterans and justice minister. Mr Brown did not take sides in the recent leadership contest, he was elected number two in the party in 2018 by 55%, a bigger margin than Yousaf.
Like the Tories in Westminster the new party leader seems to be draining its talent pool deliberately.
Internecine struggles have already resulted in the SNP's biggest fish, and its first first minister, jumping out to found a new nationalist party, Alba.
From the sidelines Alex Salmond jeered at his successor but one: "When you win an election by 52% to 48%, when your two rival candidates got more votes than you did, the very first thing you do as a leader is get them into your tent. You don't offer them a demotion and then wonder why they turn that down. That's an early and fairly substantial mistake."
SNP rivals licking lips at prospect of 'civil war'
Not surprisingly the SNPs rivals in Scotland - Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat - are also licking their lips at the prospect of "civil war" among Scottish nationalists.
It may not all be Mr Yousaf's fault. Divisions might have been too deep to bridge already after the fierce criticism he faced during the campaign. The level of support Ms Forbes received and her willingness to talk about joining his team suggest she would have stayed on as a widely admired finance secretary, the second most important cabinet post.
Her offer, fisheries and rural affairs, was insultingly way down the pecking order, especially when the leadership's policy in these areas is at variance with Forbes and those she stands for in the party. Yousaf snubbed the other candidate Ash Regan, who got 11% in the first round altogether. There were no talks or derisory offer for her.
Read more:
The life, political path and controversies of the new SNP leader
Yousaf promises independence: What can new SNP leader deliver?
'Humza Useless'
Mr Yousaf certainly cannot claim to have assembled a government of all the talents. After mediocre performance in several government departments he has been nicknamed "Humza Useless", while the rest of his team are not household names in their own households.
Proffering a downgrading post is a classic ploy to knock out a rival. It is an offer they find easy to refuse, and is seldom sincere. Mr Johnson played this game in 2019, from a position of strength and support from two-thirds of the Tory membership, when he suggested Jeremy Hunt, then foreign secretary, might like to consider defence. Traditionally a rising politician moves in the opposite direction across Whitehall.
Mr Johnson progressively purged his cabinet and party of experienced politicians who represented an ideological or personal threat to him. Seriously compromised politicians such as Priti Patel and Gavin Williamson ended up enjoying repeated positions of power.
Earlier generations of Conservative leaders were wiser. Happy Birthday to both John Major and Michael Heseltine, respectively 80 and 90 years old this week.
Mr Heseltine successfully dethroned Margaret Thatcher but failed to seize the crown himself. The new leader, Mr Major, hugged him tight with cabinet posts of his choice.
Eventually Mr Heseltine became an invaluable deputy prime minister to Mr Major, and no threat. Douglas Hurd and Kenneth Clarke were also accommodated for long and fruitful careers on the front bench from Ms Thatcher onward, in government and opposition, even though they opposed the Eurosceptic drift of their party.
Mr Johnson kicked Mr Heseltine out of the party in spite of describing himself as a "Brexity Hezza", much to Mr Heseltine's scorn. But then Mr Johnson's vision of Brexit had once included continued membership of the Single Market, until he switched to no deal, hard Brexit and opposition to the Northern Ireland protocol which he agreed.
Placating activists in his party took precedence over cultivating its best talent. Polarising conflict was preferred as a tactic to looking for consensus and constructive policies.
Continuity from Sturgeon's regime
Mr Yousaf represents continuity from the Nicola Sturgeon regime, which has just stuttered to a close ignominiously, with the effective-immediately resignations of her husband Peter Murrell, the SNP general secretary, and her communications chief Murray Foote.
The Scottish Greens, the SNP's current coalition partners, immediately backed Mr Yousaf as first minister. If Ms Forbes had won they were set to pull out, leaving her in charge of a minority administration. Under Mr Yousaf, their joint progressive agenda continues including backing for gender self-ID on which Ms Sturgeon got out of step with popular opinion.
In electoral terms the Greens and the SNP are competing with each other for progressive nationalist votes. It remains to be seen who will ultimately benefit from their coalition.
In the meantime the smaller fringe party has set the government's agenda in a similar way to the influence in the Conservative party of the right wing and factions beyond such as UKIP and Reform. In both cases the drift of the party seems to be leaving a large gap in the centre for others to exploit.
Yousaf passing up chance for fresh approach
Neither the SNP nor the modern Conservative Party have ever commanded the popular vote - the majority of those eligible to have voted, rather than those who turned out. That is always a difficult feat in a multiparty democracy.
The difference is that the SNP lost their referendum for independence in 2014. That probably emboldened David Cameron to call the referendum for Brexit which was won to the satisfaction of the majority of his party.
Yet both parties have continued to dominate government in their respective spheres. Both have ruled in a majoritarian way, largely overriding the concerns even of considerable minorities in their own parties. There is limited evidence that the latest Conservative leader Rishi Sunak may now be having a rethink although he has little room to manoeuvre.
Mr Yousaf is passing up the chance for a fresh approach or attempting consensus with those he beat so narrowly. Precedent suggests his winner-takes-all interpretation of a 52/48 victory is likely to be only the start of difficulties for his party and Scotland.