Humza Yousaf preparing for humiliation as he blames two other parties for election defeat

Humza Yousaf

Humza Yousaf has pleaded with voters not to choose other pro-independence alternatives following the SNP’s latest polling defeat.

The First Minister was recently dealt a blow in an Inverness by-election that saw his party haemorrhage support, polling 15 percent lower than the previous round of votes in the Inverness South (Highland) council constituency.

The SNP came third to an independent candidate and the Liberal Democrats, receiving just over 20 percent of roughly 8,000 votes.

The party is expected to perform similarly poorly at the next general election, where it faces coming second behing the Labour party.

A spooked Mr Yousaf today begged Scots to ditch former FM Alex Salmond’s Alba Party and the SNP’s coalition partners, the Scottish Greens.

He said today that other parties, not the SNP, could cost it seats in the upcoming national vote.

Scots are expected to vote tactically, with the party’s two rivals also offering independence possibly costing Mr Yousaf.

He urged them to help the SNP by providing Scotland’s largest party “advocating for the cause of independence” with their votes.

Speaking of the Greens, he said: “We have competed for votes in different elections before, so there is a real danger of those who believe in independence voting Green and taking votes away from the SNP.”

He added: “With the greatest respect to my Green colleagues, they are not going to win a Westminster seat.

“There are a number of opportunities to advance the cause of independence to ensure there are no more Tory MPs in Scotland, and making sure Scotland’s voice is heard in Westminster.

“So voting for another pro-independence party risks splitting the vote.”

Recent polling suggests that the SNP is destined for failure in Scotland this year, with Scottish Labour pulling ahead of the party.

Polls posted by YouGov last week found that one in three Scots – 33 percent- would vote for Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour party.

The result placed it two points ahead of the SNP, which polled at 31 percent, while the Scottish Conservatives came third with 14 percent.