Voters don’t back divided parties, Yousaf tells Cherry

SNP MP Joanna Cherry said the ‘party machine’ was behind Humza Yousaf’s bid for the leadership.

The SNP leadership candidate said he favoured ‘collegiate leadership’ but backed whipping MSPs to vote for gender reforms (Andy Buchanan/PA) (PA Wire)

SNP leadership hopeful Humza Yousaf has told the party’s most vociferous internal critic people do not vote for divided parties, as he urged her to be “respectful”.

Joanna Cherry has repeatedly railed against the party’s hierarchy, most notable on her strong opposition to gender reforms, but has more recently hit out at the position of chief executive Peter Murrell – who is married to Nicola Sturgeon.

This week, the Edinburgh South West MP – who has announced her backing for Ash Regan in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon – said the “party machine” was working to elect the Health Secretary.