Unless something radical happens, the SNP’s unhealthy dominance seems over already

Editorial: It is plainly in the party’s interests, and Humza Yousaf’s, to put as much distance as possible between the new leadership and the mistakes of the past

Yousaf cannot turn it around if he doesn’t even acknowledge there’s a problem (Getty)

It’s usually a discouraging sign if a political leader finds it necessary to confirm that the political party they are supposed to be in charge of isn’t operating as a criminal enterprise. Or, in the case of the first minister of Scotland, stating that “I don’t believe it is”.

Given that the Scottish National Party’s treasurer, Colin Beattie, was sitting in a police station under arrest at the time of Humza Yousaf’s impromptu press conference, that hint of caution was probably wise. Mr Beattie’s arrest follows soon after the arrest of the SNP’s former chief executive, Peter Murrell, husband to the former party leader Nicola Sturgeon, and a series of embarrassing resignations and disclosures about missing monies and members.

While the SNP no doubt numbers among its elected and unelected officials many individuals dedicated to public service, some of those at the top do have, literally, questions to answer about the party’s finances, management and the exact status of a £110,000 luxury motorhome confiscated from Nicola Sturgeon’s home by Police Scotland. It doesn’t feel like an organisation well-equipped to lead the nation out of the UK and to negotiate its way into the EU.