Humza Yousaf is sinking to a new low with talk of traitors

Matt saw the writing on the wall. Humza Yousaf and his London point-man Stephen Flynn have proved him right.

He said the SNP should swap white papers on economics for sloganeering. Just go for the gut: play to emotion, not reason.

Matt told me he “hates to cite bad guys” like Donald Trump, but “sometimes you need to learn from the b*****ds. Play nice, you’ll lose”.

How can recent behaviour by Humza Yousaf be seen as anything other than dangerously flirting with populism?

Yousaf’s embrace of populism became clear when he tweeted an ill-judged P&J front page featuring Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar under the headline "The Traitors". The front page spoke of Labour’s “betrayal” of Scotland’s oil and gas sector.

After the Daily Mail’s infamous Brexit front page calling judges "Enemies of the People", the P&J’s editor should have known better. It was crass and stupid. But papers are papers. If readers don’t like what they see they can punish by withholding pounds and purchases.

Politicians are different, especially party leaders and even more so heads of government. Yousaf gleefully amplified the front page, tweeting it to his 265,000 followers, and adding the claim that “the SNP will stand up for Scotland”.

When subsequently questioned about pushing such inflammatory language, he doubled-down. He regretted nothing, called the front page “very important” and “very good” and refused to apologise.

“If you’ve got any issues with the front page of the P&J, you should probably ask the P&J about that,” he said dismissively.

Questioned again about his behaviour amid the current debate regarding "toxicity in politics", Yousaf smirked and doubled-down on his double-down.

It was a cocky performance, both self-satisfied and entirely lacking in self-awareness. The mockery in Yousaf’s voice when the issue of whether his actions added to the ugliness of politics was abundantly clear.

Now, evidently - once more, once again, ad infinitum - the SNP aren’t the Tories. The party isn’t engaged in the same relentless and incendiary rhetoric as the Conservative Party, where the likes of Lee Anderson ramp up race hatred.

However, Yousaf has now labelled political opponents as "traitors". This is dangerous. He is an intelligent man, certainly more intelligent than his stupid comments. So, surely he sees the risk? His vicious online base is addicted to insults like "traitor" and "quisling".

The red meat that Yousaf tosses is now very bloody indeed.

Politicians endlessly tell us about the violence they face due to harmful rhetoric. Extremists assassinated two MPs. Yet Yousaf smirks at his nasty stunt.

He debased the office of First Minister; shamed himself. It was populism of the worst order. Perhaps, Yousaf should defect to Alba. He’d be a better fit there, than in an allegedly social democratic party.

READ MORE: Neil Mackay talks to Professor Matt Qvortrup about the SNP and populism

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Conservative mayhem and extremism gives the SNP the necessary cover for its own rottenness. Nationalists can fail repeatedly in government, yet hide behind the hulking damage done by the Tories.

Now it seems Yousaf can flirt with hateful language and get away with it, as he’s not the full Lee Anderson. Doesn’t Scotland deserve better?

Stephen Flynn also seems to have populist tastes. Maybe it’s at his master's bidding?

The SNP tried to play the martyr over the recent chaos in Westminster on a Gaza vote. It was a grossly mendacious performance. The SNP is as bad as the rest of them, playing petty political games against a background of blood.

Our politicians use war to score points against each other. Do they think this helps the people of Palestine or Israel? Do they think their childish stunts will stop war or bring peace?

Now, we’re told the SNP is considering a campaign of “disengagement” with day-to-day Westminster business in revenge for the Gaza debacle. Flynn denies that’s the plan, but party sources say it’s being explored. That sounds a good way to float an idea with convenient deniability in order to see how it plays with the SNP’s base.

Disengagement would be a "Sinn Fein-lite" strategy. The SNP wouldn’t refuse to take their seats - that would mean no salary - but MPs would cause disruption and not attend debates or committees.

It’s perfect populism. But when it comes to serving Scotland, it’s an outrage. MPs must represent all their constituents, not their own special interest group. We pay them to sit in Parliament, not grandstand. If they don’t like that, resign en masse and stand in by-elections on a disengagement ticket.

The timing of this ‘disengagement’ story seemed distinctly cynical. It jockeyed for media attention with angry reactions to savage and ruinous SNP budget cuts.

The SNP is reportedly considering a campaign of “disengagement” with day-to-day Westminster business (Image: PA)

Not everyone in the SNP is onboard with this populist shift. One MP told me yesterday: “Calling people traitors is always best avoided. There’s plenty of other ways to put the boot in without using that line.”

None of this bodes well for forthcoming elections. Matters will get very ugly. Yousaf is out of his depth, and knows it. His back is against the wall. The SNP is falling in the polls. Labour is on its heels. The party has been proven incapable of good government. Only deluded partisans imagine there will be a referendum anytime soon.

Once more, the SNP becomes a weak mirror-image of the Tory Party. Conservatives are catastrophically bad in government; the SNP merely pathetic. Conservatives play blatantly with hate; the SNP simply tinker around the edges. Conservatives drain the bottle marked "Populism" as electoral ruin looms; the SNP just take a long slug from the neck.

Yet, this was all inevitable, as my pal Professor Matt Qvortrup predicted. When a government is dying, it has nothing left but to lash out and wound the very society it claims to serve.