HUMZA Yousaf has responded to a potential leadership bid by an SNP member just months after he has taken office.
Chris Hanlon, secretary of the West Fife and Coastal Villages SNP branch, is reportedly gathering nominations online.
Should he reach 100 nominations, it would lead to a second leadership contest for the party in the space of six months.
According to the SNP’s constitution, both the party’s leader and depute leader (currently Keith Brown) must be re-elected annually. This rule would normally pass without notice, as no challengers come forward and so no vote is held.
However, if a challenger with sufficient backing – 100 nominations from 20 different branches – comes forward, they would be able to force an annual leadership battle.
While Hanlon stressed that no firm decisions have been made, on Sunday he posted an image of a SNP leadership nomination form and hinted that Yousaf should be challenged.
Asked about a potential challenge, Yousaf said: “I'm not bothered about it.
“I don't think anybody in the SNP would want to go through another leadership contest. But obviously, it's as I say, there's plenty of things that I've got to concern myself about as First Minister and this is not one of them.”
Hanlon had written on the social media post: “The job of party leader is to implement party policy, all of party policy, and nothing but party policy,” he wrote. “Party policy is decided by conference.
“If, like me, you are concerned that leadership spends too much time pontificating about what they claim party policy is rather than waiting for members to decide or telling journalists that the decision hasn’t been made yet and that questions about the specific details of the independence election will have to wait till conference, I’d like to hear from you.”
During the 2023 leadership contest between Yousaf, Kate Forbes, and Ash Regan, there was never any question of all three securing the 100 nominations due to the low bar it is seen to represent.
It is understood that the SNP’s ongoing governance review will look at whether this provision needs to be changed.
