Humza Yousaf sought to temper expectations of SNP members at the party's annual conference.
Patience and unity. That is what the Scottish National Party leader, Humza Yousaf, wants from his party now.
Instead the party will demand an actual referendum if it wins a majority of Scottish constituencies at Westminster — 29 seats — even though it won 48 in 2019. The SNP's attempts, along with the Scottish Green Party, to use their current pro-independence majority at Holyrood to hold one have already been stymied by the UK government's refusal to grant consent, and by thePerhaps with that in mind, delegates here in Aberdeen also voted for London to devolve more powers to Edinburgh to tackle what were described as the "twin crises" of the cost of living and climate change.
This hedging of bets reflects concern in senior SNP circles about polls which suggest Labour could pick up 20 or more Scottish seats at a general election which is expected to be held next year. But by the time Mr Yousaf narrowly won the leadership in March, that machine was in trouble. Seven months on, the gears are crunching, the wheels are wobbling and the engine is spluttering.First, governing devolved Scotland since 2007 has brought challenges as well as opportunities.
Supporters of the 316-year-old union with England, including Labour and the Conservatives, make the mirror-image claim, alleging that Scotland's public services are in a dire state and that the reason is the SNP's 'obsession' with independence.Then there is the police investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP which has, in Mr Yousaf's description, engulfed his party.
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