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Release time：2024-05-21 14:57:02 Source：Earthly Echoes news portal

Sir Keir Starmer today lashed out 'absolute chaos' in Scottish politics as Humza Yousaf quit as First Minister and SNP leader.

He claimed the Scottish public had been 'fundamentally let down' and called for a 'fresh start'.

The Labour leader reiterated his demand for an immediate general election, while his party insisted there should also be a snap Scottish Parliament election.

Mr Yousaf's departure as First Minister little more than a year after replacing Nicola Sturgeon in Bute House has thrown the SNP into a fresh meltdown.

But the pro-independence party's latest travails will likely be met with glee in Labour ranks as they seek to re-establish their past dominance in Scottish politics.

A revival of Labour's fortunes in Scotland has long been regarded as key to the party's chances of forming a government at Westminster again and ensuring Sir Keir becomes PM.

Earlier this month, a YouGov mega-poll projected Labour would comfortably be Scotland's largest party in terms of seats at the upcoming general election.

The MRP study, based on detailed seat-by-seat polling, found Sir Keir was set to win 28 Scottish seats at the general election compared to the SNP's 19, while the Tories and Liberal Democrats would win five each. 

Such a result would be a remarkable turnaround nearly a decade on from Labour's 2015 general election performance under then-leader Ed Miliband, when they suffered a near-wipeout in Scotland.

Labour went from winning 41 out of 59 seats in Scotland at the 2010 general election to retaining just one Scottish constituency five years later.

Sir Keir Starmer lashed out 'absolute chaos' in Scottish politics as Humza Yousaf quit as First Minister and SNP leader

Mr Yousaf's departure as First Minister little more than a year after replacing Nicola Sturgeon in Bute House has thrown the SNP into a fresh meltdown

Labour went from winning 41 out of 59 seats in Scotland at the 2010 general election to retaining just one Scottish constituency five years later

Over the same period, the SNP went from winning six seats in 2010 to securing near-dominance in 2015 when they scooped 56 out of 59 Scottish constituencies.

But since their high-water mark in 2015 - the year after the Scottish independence referendum - the SNP's fortunes have suffered a gradual decline.

In 2016, the SNP lost their overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, while the 2021 Holyrood contest also saw the SNP fall one seat short of a majority.

It was the result of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election that ultimately led to Mr Yousaf's downfall.

Nicola Sturgeon negotiated a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood while she was first minister, but Mr Yousaf last week terminated ths deal.

This left him facing the humiliating prospect of losing no confidence votes among MSPs after the Greens turned on him.

But, before those votes could take place, he has now announced his resignation as SNP leader and First Minister.

Sir Keir branded the actions of Mr Yousaf and the SNP as 'absolute chaos' and called for a 'fresh start' in Scotland.

'I despair at the situation in Scotland – it's absolute chaos now from the Scottish Parliament, from the SNP,' the Labour leader said.

'So you've got chaos in the Scottish Parliament, chaos in the Westminster Parliament.'

He said the Scottish public have been 'fundamentally let down' and 'all the SNP can offer is chaos.'

He added: 'We've got to turn the page on this now – we need that general election and a fresh start.'

A new YouGov poll of more than 1,000 Scottish voters, conducted over the weekend before Mr Yousaf's resignation, showed Labour continued to hold a narrow lead over the SNP in Westminster voting intention.

Sir Keir's party led the SNP by 34 per cent to 33 per cent when Scots were asked who they would vote for at a general election.

But the poll revealed the SNP held a narrow lead over Labour in both constituency (36 per cent to 32 per cent) and regional (31 per cent to 28 per cent) Holyrood voting intention.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said there must be a Holyrood election following Mr Yousaf's resignation.

He said: 'Scotland faces the biggest challenges since devolution but it now has a dysfunctional, chaotic and divided SNP Government.

'All this at a time when our country needs strong leadership to get us through the twin challenges of the economic crisis and the crisis in our NHS.

'The SNP are a divided party which is out of ideas and incapable of rising to the challenges Scotland faces.

'They cannot impose another unelected First Minister on Scotland in a backroom deal, the people of Scotland should decide who leads our country.

'There must be an election – it's time for change and Scottish Labour is ready to deliver it.'

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