Poll: Half of Scots believe Humza Yousaf is doing a bad job as First Minister

Just 23 per cent endorsed Mr Yousaf’s time in office

Half of Scots believe Humza Yousaf is doing a bad job as First Minister, a new poll has found.

A YouGov poll of 1,100 people, carried out between June 26 and 29 and shared with the PA news agency, showed 50 per cent viewed Mr Yousaf as having done a bad job since taking office.

It comes after Mr Yousaf marked 100 days in the job on Friday, with his first few months dominated by the fallout from the police investigation into the SNP’s finances.

Last month, Nicola Sturgeon became the third senior SNP figure to be arrested as part of the probe, after her husband Peter Murrell, the party’s former chief executive, and Colin Beattie, its ex-treasurer. All three were released without charge.

Mr Yousaf has also been grappling with a number of policy headaches. The controversial deposit return scheme was recently mothballed, while plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas were scrapped following a huge backlash. A court battle over the Scottish Government’s gender reforms is set for September.

Just 23 per cent endorsed Mr Yousaf’s time in office in the latest poll. A previous survey conducted in April found 19 per cent of people thought Mr Yousaf was doing well, and 44 per cent believed the opposite, although his tenure was just weeks old when this was conducted.

The First Minister boasted a slightly better rating than Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with 22 per cent of Scots saying Mr Sunak was doing a good job leading the UK Government, compared to 59 per cent who said he was doing a bad job.

On favourability, 28 per cent had a favourable view of the First Minister, while 51 per cent had an unfavourable view.

Those polled were also given six topics and asked to evaluate Mr Yousaf’s performance, including on the cost of living, where just 15 per cent believed he had done well, compared to 60 per cent believing the opposite. On the ongoing investigation into the SNP’s finances, 22 per cent of respondents believed Mr Yousaf was doing a good job, compared to 48 per cent who believed otherwise. Some 17 per cent approved of his stewardship of the economy, while 55 per cent did not.

Elsewhere, 18 per cent believed he had done a good job on healthcare, compared to 56 per cent who did not, and 20 per cent believed his administration were handling climate change well, compared to 44 per cent who believed otherwise.

On Scottish independence, 18 per cent believed he had handled the issue well, while 50 per cent did not.

The poll also suggested that support for independence had fallen back since the previous poll in April, with 37 per cent saying they would back separation, down from 39 per cent. Those who would vote no in a future referendum also increased to 46 per cent, while 6 per cent of respondents said they would not vote, 9 per cent responded that they did not know how they would vote and 2 per cent refused to answer the question.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said the only surprise “is that just half those responding think Humza Yousaf’s doing a terrible job”. He added: “The First Minister has watched several of his flagship policies fall to pieces and his party descend into open warfare, and there’s still a huge shadow over their conduct and murky finances.

“Meanwhile, while Humza pushes his independence obsession, the health service is at breaking point, the ferries fiasco continues, public services have been slashed and a further £1 billion black hole in the budget has been announced. Anyone who doesn’t find that disastrous must have been on the Moon for the past 100 days.”

Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said “In his first 100 days in office Humza Yousaf has somehow managed to fall short of the low expectations we had of him. He has been missing in action while Scots struggled with the worst cost of living crisis in decades and the NHS crisis he let spiral as Health Secretary.

"He failed as Transport Minister, Justice Secretary, Health Secretary – and now he is failing as First Minister too, leaving his party and our country in chaos. Scotland deserves better than this incompetent First Minister and dysfunctional government, and Labour can deliver the change Scotland needs.”

Pamela Nash, chief executive of pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union, said: “Poll after poll shows that most people in Scotland want to remain part of the UK and recognise that we are stronger together. Given the numbers who think Humza Yousaf is doing a bad job, he should drop his obsession with his negative campaign to divide us and focus on what really matters to people – fixing the NHS, driving up education standards, delivering economic growth and tackling the climate emergency.”

A spokesman for the First Minister said recent polling showed the SNP remains the “most popular party in Scotland, which reflects the record of delivery of the new Scottish Government”.

He said: “In his first hundred days, Humza Yousaf defined the core missions of his administration – equality, opportunity, community – and introduced substantial measures to help achieve these aims.

“His first action as First Minister was to triple the funding to help households most vulnerable to fuel poverty, and more than 300,000 families are benefiting from our game-changing Scottish Child Payment – which is unique in the UK. We have launched a new 10-year cancer strategy to improve survival rates and provide excellent, accessible care for all, and are making progress in cutting NHS waiting lists.

“Just last week, the First Minister announced the biggest pay uplift since devolution for senior medical and dental staff, and Scotland continues to be the only nation in the UK that has avoided NHS strikes over the last year.

“Work to reset relationships with business and local government is well underway, as well as rebuilding and reshaping how education is delivered. Putting the needs of people is at the heart of everything we do as a Government.”

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said Mr Yousaf was doing “brilliant” in the face of a “challenging time” for the party. Speaking to Sky News, he said Mr Yousaf had reset the Scottish Government’s relationship with business leaders, while listening to communities.

He added: “This is a First Minister who is acting according to the wishes of the people, which is what you would expect from the Scottish National Party.”