‘Kate Forbes is a threat to Labour and the Tories’

Humza Yousaf stepped down as First Minister of Scotland on Monday, following his decision to scrap the SNP’s coalition deal with the Scottish Greens.

Telegraph readers have taken to the comments section to discuss Mr Yousaf’s decision and the future of the SNP and Scotland.

The majority of readers were pleased to see Humza Yousaf step down. In our exclusive poll, over 93 per cent of 13,000 Telegraph readers voted in favour of his resignation.

Many chose to focus on the former first minister’s failures during his short premiership.

Telegraph reader Peter Hogg, for example, argued Mr Yousaf “is totally incompetent and a puppet for Nicola Sturgeon”, claiming that “anything he touched went wrong. He was a Left-wing activist who should never have been anywhere near any government.”

Reader Tom McLelland went further: “Humza Yousef has failed to address the real issues of government in Scotland, preferring to try to demonstrate how Scotland would perform on an international stage.

“This is detrimental to the people of Scotland who want to see much more progress on the domestic front. For that reason alone, he should go.”

‘Whoever replaces Yousaf will lose when an election is held’

Sir Keir Starmer said this morning Scotland needed to “turn the page” on SNP “chaos” as he repeated his call for a general election. Many readers agree with this stance and predict that the SNP will be kicked out of government in the next election.

While in favour of Humza Yousaf stepping down, reader Kirsty Watt claims that only “when the electorate finally decide the SNP are not fit for purpose, including the Green Party, then and only then, will it be time for sighs of relief and celebration for those who had/have the foresight to anticipate unmitigated disaster for Scotland. A top-down clean sweep is only a starting point. There’s still a long process as yet”.

She continues: “It’s time for the electorate who voted them in, to wake up and remove their blinkered perspectives. Oust the SNP and demand an election. Enough is enough.”

Reader Geoffrey Thirlby also suggests: “It’s better to call a Scottish general election” as whoever replaces Humza Yousaf as “leader of the SNP will no doubt lose when the general election is held.”

Meanwhile, reader Phil McHale claims: “The problem with the SNP isn’t that their quest for independence interferes with running the country, it’s that they should never have got distracted from seeking independence by running the country.”

‘Kate Forbes is a threat to Labour and the Tories’

Meanwhile, some readers discussed the politicians who could be expected to throw their hat into the SNP leadership contest ring, with Kate Forbes – the former finance secretary – being the preferred option by some readers.

Reader H.M. has put forward Kate Forbes as the only replacement for Mr Yousaf, labelling her as “credible”.

They explain: “Ms Forbes is quite a threat to both Labour and the Tories because of her socially conservative views. She’s also a realist when it comes to independence – she knows there is no instant path, though whether the party faithful want to hear that is another matter.”

Reader John Telford also suggests it has “got to be Kate Forbes all the way,” as he argues she “speaks sense and has the best chance of all of them of getting Scottish independence”.

‘Electoral gold for the opposition’

Some Telegraph readers think Humza Yousaf’s resignation is unfortunate, as they argue he would have been the SNP’s ultimate demise.

Reader David Robinson claimed Mr Yousaf was “great for independence” and shared that “never a day goes by where he did not disappoint us with some laughable policy or quote”.

Sharing a similar sentiment, Viv Hanstad-Pilcher argued that with Humza Yousaf at the helm, there was “only a little way to go to basically eliminate the SNP along with its fiscal incompetence and virtue-signalling wokery”.

Reader CF labelled Mr Yousaf as “electoral gold for the opposition”.

‘Humza Yousaf should be given credit for dumping the Greens’

For others, Humza Yousaf did the right thing by moving away from the Green Party. His resignation has come only four days after he held a press conference to announce he was ending his coalition deal with the Scottish Greens.

Reader Donald Grant believes the former first minister “should be given credit for dumping the Greens, whose influence has inflicted misery on both the poor and the rich people in Scotland”.

Similarly, reader Mike Winterbotham says: “It’s ironic that the one sensible thing the SNP has done – to ditch net zero targets and dump the Green Party – has cost them their power.”

Finally, reader John Vaccaro shares that while he is “no fan of Mr Yousaf nor the SNP,” he believes “it’s a bit rich for Mel Stride to call anyone out for being in an ‘extraordinary mess’”.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said Humza Yousaf and the SNP had got themselves into an “extraordinary mess” when asked to comment on the situation this morning on Sky News.

“People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” concludes The Telegraph reader.