Former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has backed her successor Humza Yousaf’s new Scottish independence strategy as she denied “upstaging” him at the party conference.
The ex-first minister gave her “full unequivocal support” to the new SNP plan to claim a mandate for independence negotiations if the party wins a majority of seats in Scotland at the general election.
Arriving at the SNP conference in Aberdeen to huge cheers from supporters, Ms Sturgeon dismissed questions about whether she was in danger of upstaging the under-pressure leader, saying she was only watching “from afar”.
She said Mr Yousaf was doing a “fantastic job”, adding: “I don’t think there is any doubt about who is in charge of this conference.”
Asked by a reporter if she was the “Liz Truss of the SNP”, a reference to the ex-PM’s unwelcome interventions at the Tory conference, she replied: “How long did it take you to think that up?” adding: “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Ms Sturgeon, who led the SNP for almost a decade until her resignation in February, was arrested and questioned by police in connection with detectives probe in party finances – but released without charge.
The ex-leader, when asked if she was disappointed that the SNP had rejected her plan to treat the general election as a “de facto” vote, replied: “One of the reasons I took the decision to step down was that I believed I’d given it my all on moving the country to independence.”
She added: “I had taken it as far as I could. I think in those circumstances it was right that the party took the time to consider the way forward it wanted to adopt.”
Ms Sturgeon said comparisons to Liz Truss were ‘ridiculous’
Asked why the SNP lost the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election to Labour, Ms Sturgeon said her party had to “remind people why we won so many elections in the past almost 20 years now”.
“It’s about being on the side of people who aspire for a better life for themselves. It’s about standing up and providing a voice for people who are often marginalised … standing up to vested interests … standing up for Scotland.”
Ms Sturgeon told journalists at the SNP conference in Aberdeen that she is “concentrating on writing [her] book right now”, having signed a deal for a memoir.
Earlier in the day, Mr Yousaf rejected the idea he could feel undermined Ms Sturgeon’s attendance – telling reporters that he was “delighted” she was in Aberdeen.
“Nicola is a member, she led the party for so long. She’s going to get a lot of love, quite rightly, and adulation,” said the leader.
Defending the party’s new position on independence, the SNP’s deputy leader Keith Brown says his party would still have a mandate for negotiations with the UK government if it won the most seats in Scotland on fewer votes than in the previous election.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme, Mr Brown said it is the “democratic norm” that the party that won the most seats won the election. Asked what would happen if Labour or the Conservatives continue to say no, he said: “They have to answer why they won’t respond to the mandates which have been granted.”
Meanwhile, Mr Yousaf – whose wife’s parents are stuck in Gaza – told the BBC on Sunday that he had a “very difficult night” having got a call from his mother-in-law.
He called on Rishi Sunak’s government to push Israel into a ceasefire in southern Gaza and support the opening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt to allow people out and aid to get in.
Nadia El-Nakla, the wife of Scotland’s first minister, accused the UK government of “enabling” Israel’s invasion of Gaza. She told a SNP conference event: “The UK is enabling the behaviour of Israel, but gaslighting us at the same time.”
