Scottish leader outlines independence push

Scottish nationalist leader Humza Yousaf pledged Tuesday to use Britain's next general election to push for independence, even if his party loses several seats as expected.

Yousaf told the Scottish National Party (SNP) conference in Aberdeen that he was committed to building "sustained majority" support for Scotland becoming independent from the UK.

The SNP will claim it has "a mandate for independence negotiations" with the British government if it wins a majority of Scottish seats at the UK election expected in 2024.

"At the next election, page one, line one of our manifesto will say 'vote SNP for Scotland to become an independent country,'" Yousaf told cheering delegates.

Scotland rejected independence in a 2014 referendum that the UK government says has settled the question.

But the SNP says it will push for independence negotiations with Westminster and a second referendum if it wins at least 29 of the 57 seats up for grabs in Scotland.

The separatist party currently has 43 MPs in Scotland.

However, it has suffered a drop in popularity in recent months following the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and Scotland's first minister.

Sturgeon was the figurehead of the independence movement, overseeing a surge in support, particularly after Brexit, in which Scotland opposed leaving the European Union, and during the Covid pandemic.

But in February, she unexpectedly announced her resignation, sparking a bitter leadership contest that Yousaf won. Sturgeon was later arrested with her husband over claims of mismanagement of SNP finances.

The SNP's travails have coincided with a resurgent Labour Party that leads British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ruling Conservatives in national opinion polls.

The SNP recently lost a key by-election near Glasgow to Labour, while a lawmaker quit to join the Conservatives this week.

Polling experts have predicted that Labour could recapture dozens of seats from the SNP in Scotland. Analysts say it needs to if it is to return to power in the British government.

"The Tories are finished, Labour has abandoned its principles, but the SNP will always stand by ours," Yousaf said, announcing a local tax freeze and extra investment for Scotland's health service.

Yousaf, whose in-laws are trapped in Gaza amid the war between Israel and Hamas, urged Hamas to release its hostages and called for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow people to evacuate the Palestinian territory.