Humza Yousaf makes ‘important’ Scottish independence admission in reside TV interview | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Humza Yousaf has mentioned there isn’t a prospect of one other referendum on Scottish independence until the opinion polls present “consistent majority support” in what one professional described as a “significant admission”.

Scotland’s First Minister was grilled by Peter McMahon, ITV Border’s Political Editor, after delivering a keynote speech by which he branded the UK “the poor man of north-west Europe” while pledging “massive scale” investment in competitive industries after independence.

Mr Humza’s speech notably did not set a timetable for a so-called IndyRef2, and would not be drawn on the subject with Mr McMahon either.

The journalist said: “Currently there’s no prospect of an independence referendum.”

Mr Yousaf replied: “I disagree, I absolutely disagree. Because we are sitting at around-about 50 percent.

“We have to make sure that we have consistent support, a consistent majority for independence, and then of course create the political conditions for that referendum.”

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Sam Taylor of pro-Union campaign group These Islands said: “Significant moment from last night’s @ITVBorderRB interview.

“Humza Yousaf tells @petermacmahon that another referendum won’t happen without consistent majority support in opinion polls.”

Speaking on Monday, Mr Yousaf said his speech was the first in a series he would deliver on the Scottish economy.

He said: “The working assumption is that there will probably be an absence of considerable coverage debate at Westminster.

“And that may be a reason why the rhetoric in this election year is likely to be particularly fierce as Labour and the Tories throw ever more ugly insults at each other.”

He mentioned he would attempt in the direction of a “deliberative process” in attempting to influence folks on the deserves of Scottish independence and those that imagine in any other case shouldn’t be “dismissed”.

The SNP chief referred to a report from the Resolution Foundation revenue inequality within the UK in contrast with different international locations.

He claimed the common family can be £8,300 higher off if the UK had the common revenue inequality of comparable international locations.

Using the identical evaluation for Scotland, Mr Yousaf mentioned: “The prize for the typical Scottish household would be even greater, they would be £10,200 better off.

“That then, is the massive prize of independence.”

He pledged that an independent Scotland would see “large-scale public funding in key areas of aggressive benefit”, as well as a Government department focused on industrial policy.

The First Minister claimed the UK’s living standards are “abnormally low” and the country is the “poor man of north-west Europe”.

Questioned after his speech, he acknowledged the economic changes in an independent Scotland would not happen overnight.

He said: “I’m not promoting independence as being an in a single day change, that someway the day after we turn out to be unbiased there will probably be rivers of milk and honey and the manna will fall from the sky.

“There will be challenges, of course, there will be difficulties. It will be a transitional process.”

In distinction, he insisted the UK’s financial issues are “hardwired, it’s systemic”.