How Humza Yousaf's ideology must go beyond the 'Scotland First' approach under Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond

The most famous 'ism' in politics is still Thatcherism.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's legacy in Scotland is complicated. Every successive British prime has aspired – and feared – the suffix.

It is easy to throw around by acolytes, but can last into eternity if distorted by detractors. Thatcherism these days does more to help those who want to define what they are against rather than what they are for.

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Thatcher's legacy in the minds of her opponents endures because her values and approach to politics can be distilled into a handful of words and thoughts. Ideology can give the country an understanding of a leader's values, for better or worse. It can make them reliably predictable in how they approach business, the economy, tax and health.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon alongside her successor Humza Yousaf during an update to MSPs on changes to the Covid-19 restrictions at the Scottish Parliament. Picture: PAFormer first minister Nicola Sturgeon alongside her successor Humza Yousaf during an update to MSPs on changes to the Covid-19 restrictions at the Scottish Parliament. Picture: PA
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon alongside her successor Humza Yousaf during an update to MSPs on changes to the Covid-19 restrictions at the Scottish Parliament. Picture: PA

The question for new First Minister Humza Yousaf is whether he has what it takes to define a political era. His predecessors failed to achieve broader support for independence because they needed to be less ad hoc about policy issues. Nationalism condescendingly answers every complex health, transport or economic problem the same way. There is never a substantive grand plan beyond a kind of centrist nationalist approach for what comes next.

Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have been accused of being, among other things, too left or too right since 2007. Their error in those years was to offer everything and nothing to win support for independence.

Salmond's first minority administration depended on the Scottish Conservatives to pass all four annual budgets. Sturgeon denounced "the Tories" as detestable. At best, their approach to government might be called "antithetical" – anything Westminster does, Scotland can do better.

Scotland's catastrophic problems in public health and general economic well-being necessitate something more. The SNP can no longer be the party of independence and must become the party of government. Yousaf can offer stability we have not seen in years by articulating a transparent system of ideals as the basis of economic, social and political policy. If successful, that record of government would be the natural stepping stone to his one great wish without rehashing old soundbites.

Picture: David CheskinPicture: David Cheskin
Picture: David Cheskin

The bruising contest to replace Sturgeon showcased how broad a political church the SNP is. It also highlighted how everything from business rates, the environment, education, republicanism, abortion, same-sex marriage and independence was contested by the core of the party. The new first minister had a remarkably slim victory over former finance secretary Kate Forbes.

There is never a hint of ideological disposition about how the SNP leader would respond to the challenges of a transition and post-independence. Yousaf, the self-styled continuity candidate, has pledged to continue his predecessor's "progressive" agenda without articulating precisely what it means. A government cannot be forever pro-business, pro-growth, pro-education, pro-health, pro-environment and anti-Westminster.

Yousafian ideology can go beyond a pastiche 'Scotland First' ethos. If the new First Minister is serious about addressing Scotland's catalogue of challenges, he must embrace "the vision thing" and clearly define not only how an independent Scotland will be achieved, but what it will look like and who will pay to pave the road to it.

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Scotland's forthcoming deposit return scheme is a microcosm test of character. Yousaf has warned that abandoning the new drinks container recycling scheme would amount to letting companies "off the hook". He is also rumoured to be pausing it because of the considerable objections and fears from Scotland's business community.

It is an old adage, but the more you try to please everyone, the more you will likely disappoint. It is a mathematical impossibility to commit to record economic growth levels while undertaking a raft of socially progressive policies. Scotland is the most highly-taxed part of the UK, and Yousaf has already promised a new tax band for those earning over £43,000.

Policies with captive public support, like free tuition fees, prescription charges and baby boxes, are good, but do little to resolve repeated crises within the NHS. Internationally, it has been the bugbear of the SNP leadership to reconcile internationalism with support for Nato but loathing for nuclear weapons.

Yousaf must lean some kind of ideological specification akin to Tony Blair's "Third Way" or even David Cameron's "Big Society." "Independence" as a concept is not the same as an outlined course using declared values to make those tough calls to achieve your mission.

One of the true departure points between Westminster and Holyrood is that Scottish first ministers have never managed to define the scope and scale of a Scottish ideology on par with UK prime ministers. Dewarism, McLeishism or McConnellism never came to be. Donald Dewar may have brought about devolution, but did not ideologically define it, even before his untimely death.

If Yousaf wants to govern all of Scotland, he must shift public debate past the 'yes-no'. There already exists a sizable rank and file in his party who disagree with his policies, including 15 rebel SNP MSPs ready to work against him.

There is an urgent need for the new first minister to nail his colours to the mast now, defining his values and declaring out pre-set positions. No ifs, no buts, no maybes and no tailored answers for whatever audience he finds himself in front of.

He must be bold and decisive to be his own man to progress Scotland forward. If Scotland pre-Covid could not sanction incessant talk of independence as the way forward, it cannot suffer it now when there is a cost of living and energy crisis.

Yousafian ideology could be a refreshing, straight-talking way out of our dire national straits. Yousaf just needs to decide what he is about and what he stands for.

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