One of the candidates to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish first minister says he would use “any means necessary” to take Scotland out of the United Kingdom.
NP leadership hopeful Humza Yousaf has refused to rule out calling a snap Holyrood election to try to secure independence if he becomes Scotland’s next first minister.
Mr Yousaf said he would “take nothing off the table”.
After Westminster refused to allow the Scottish government to hold another independence vote, and the UK Supreme Court ruled Holyrood did not have the powers to organise its own ballot, outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had planned to make the next Westminster general election a de facto referendum.
Mr Yousaf, one of three candidates vying to replace Ms Sturgeon as both SNP leader and Scottish first minister, was pressed on what his approach would be. Asked whether he would hold a snap Holyrood election, the current Scottish health secretary said: “To achieve independence, we will use any means necessary that is within the legal framework of course.”
He told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show: “Let’s take nothing off the table, whether it’s de facto referendum, whether it is using a Holyrood election.”
Pressed on what circumstances would need to be in place to consider a snap Scottish Parliament election, Mr Yousaf said demonstrating a “consistent majority for independence” would be crucial.
He added: “We don’t have that at the moment. We have to have a consistent majority for independence.”
Mr Yousaf added that Scotland was “at a tipping point”, with some polls showing “about 50pc” support for Scotland being independent.
A poll by Survation, released yesterday, put support for Scottish independence at 45pc – the same level achieved in the 2014 referendum – with 53pc of those questioned favouring the country remaining part of the UK.
Another poll has confirmed Mr Yousaf’s rival Kate Forbes as the leading candidate to be the next first minister.
Pollsters at Panelbase asked Scots which of the three contenders running to succeed Nicola Sturgeon would be the best first minister – with 33pc backing Ms Forbes, up by 10 points from a previous poll.
About 18pc backed Mr Yousaf, up by three points, while 10pc backed Ash Regan.
