Humza Yousaf has doubled down on the SNP’s “make Scotland Tory-free” election messaging despite concerns raised by senior party figures, saying he makes no apologies “whatsoever” for using the slogan.

The First Minister said the Tories deserved “nothing less than getting booted out of office”. It comes after Pete Wishart, the SNP’s longest-serving MP, said he would not use the message in the coming general election campaign.

The Scotsman is also aware of some disquiet within the party over Mr Yousaf’s claim at the weekend that “most seats across Scotland are a straight fight between the SNP and the Tories”, which is not true.

First Minister Humza Yousaf. Picture: John Devlin

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross accused the SNP of showing “open contempt for the almost 700,000 Scots who voted Scottish Conservative at the last election”.

Asked about Mr Wishart’s comments by Northsound News during a visit to Aberdeen, the First Minister said: "I love Pete, and of course he’s used that phrase before himself.

"But look, I make no apologies, none whatsoever, for saying to people that there is a historic opportunity for Scotland to ensure that we don’t have a single Tory MP come the next general election.

"They deserve nothing less than getting booted out of office given the misery that Tory MPs have heaped upon households in Scotland, whether it’s through 14 years of austerity, whether it’s through a Brexit we didn’t vote for, whether it’s through a cost-of-living crisis that is of the Conservatives making.

"And in every single Conservative seat in Scotland, the SNP is in second place. So if you want to get rid of Tory MPs in Scotland, you must vote for the SNP.”

On Sunday, Mr Wishart – the party’s Perth and North Perthshire MP since 2001 – said he would not be using the Tory-free messaging.

“Much as I will be doing everything possible to ensure that the Tories are kept out of Perth and Kinross-shire, I won’t be using this ‘Tory free’ rhetoric as part of my campaign,” he said on X.

However, the Scottish Tories pointed out Mr Wishart had already used the phrase in a post on X just over a week ago.

Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon's former chief-of-staff, said the message was "a little confusing".

She told BBC Radio Scotland: "I think it very much speaks to the north-east of Scotland where people are actually challenging Tory MPs as opposed to the Central Belt.

"And I can see some Central Belt campaigns finding that quite a difficult message to sell on the doorsteps. But it does get back to what this election is about – can we get the Tories out of government?"

However, Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP for Edinburgh South West, wrote on X: “It’s noteworthy that those now most vocally criticising Humza were at the forefront of quashing debate during the Sturgeon years. They should reflect on whether their #nodebate mantra has served our party, cause or country well.”

In an earlier post, she said: “Many of the challenges currently faced by the SNP were created on Liz Lloyd’s watch as an advisor and by her style, not substance approach as evidenced at the UK Covid Inquiry. Why anyone would want her advice about how we move forward is beyond me.”

The SNP is aiming to win all seven of the seats the Tories hold north of the border.

However, Labour is confident of making gains across the Central Belt, where the party will go head-to-head with the SNP and the Tories are not expected to win. Polls show Labour and the SNP are now roughly neck-and-neck in Scotland.

Mr Ross criticised the SNP’s messaging. He said: “These insulting comments demonstrate the SNP’s open contempt for the almost 700,000 Scots who voted Scottish Conservative at the last election.

“Humza Yousaf’s divisive rhetoric shows why we are asking pro-UK voters to vote together for the Scottish Conservatives. If we unite once more, we can beat the SNP and end their campaign to divide Scotland for good.

“The one thing Humza Yousaf is correct about is that in many seats up and down Scotland, the election will be a straight fight between the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives. He should suffer at the ballot box for pushing such divisive language.

“We are calling for voters in those constituencies who are sick and tired of Humza Yousaf spreading division to back the local Scottish Conservative candidate, so we can defeat the SNP and get the focus back on Scotland’s real priorities, such as fixing our public services.”

Earlier, Jamie Hepburn, the SNP’s independence minister, defended the messaging as “clear and straightforward”.

He told the BBC: “It’s time for them to go and I think it’s a very clear and straightforward message.

“We know that in most seats the battle is a direct one between the SNP and the Tories, people want the Tories to go, we have the chance to get rid of Tory MPs in Scotland and make Scotland Tory-free, and the way to do that is by voting SNP.”

Mr Hepburn added: “I think if we look at the opinion polls, people are already coming to the conclusion that the Tories’ time is up and if people want to get rid of the Tories, as seems to be the case from the opinion polls and that’s certainly that’s the sense I get on the doorsteps, then it is a very straightforward proposition.”

Mr Yousaf was quizzed on the contentious party messaging as he opened the first dedicated innovation centre for floating offshore wind in Aberdeen on Monday.

The First Minister said the centre was a major step to realising the country’s net zero ambitions.

The £9 million innovation centre, delivered by Offshore Renewable Energy (Ore) Catapult in collaboration with ETZ Limited, is designed to supercharge the development of floating offshore wind technology in the UK.

Funding for the world-first project has also been provided by the Scottish Government and Innovate UK. It is estimated the successful rollout will see floating offshore wind have the potential to deliver £43 billion in UK gross value add by 2050, creating more than 29,000 jobs.

Mr Yousaf said: “Delivering our net zero ambitions will require economic and societal transformation, with sustained investment, both public and private, to achieve it. We know the scale of the change needed. The National Floating Wind Innovation Centre embodies the spirit of collaboration that will drive the offshore wind industry forward.”

The First Minister added: “We share a common objective to establish Scotland as a first mover in floating wind technology on an industrial scale and by seizing this advantage we can position Scotland among the world’s leaders in this ground-breaking industry as we maximise our net zero targets.”

Humza Yousaf doubles down on ‘make Scotland Tory-free’ election message

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