Labour Figures View SNP Chaos As "Reset Moment"

Scottish Labour figures have said they view the chaotic fallout from Humza Yousaf’s resignation as a “reset moment” to “throw out” assumptions around core voter groups in Scotland.

The resignation of Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has begun another episode of political turmoil for Scotland and the Scottish National Party, only 14 months after Nicola Sturgeon stepped down.

With Labour currently polling ahead of the SNP in Scotland, Labour figures are aware the SNP’s troubles present them with a fresh opportunity, claiming that ‘traditional’ voter bases are now being reshaped. 

Labour’s newest MP in Scotland, Michael Shanks, won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in October from the SNP – making him the second of only two Labour MPs in the country alongside Ian Murray. He told PoliticsHome that while the issue of Scottish independence was “not going away”, Labour would be looking to appeal to nationalist voters who want to “send a government” to make changes, rather than simply “send a message”.

“[Scottish Labour leader] Anas [Sarwar] has made a really clear offer to people that we're not going to try and persuade you that you should change your position on independence: if that's your position, that's your position,” he said.

“But for now, you need to get a government that represents change. And that's not going to come from the SNP and it's not going to come from the Tories.”

He said that a few years ago, Labour candidates had “a core pool of voters” but that since then, “the shifting sands of people's voting intentions” had changed. In Shanks’ view, this was in part because “people are fed up with the constant obsession with independence”.

“We had people who were literally showing us SNP membership cards that