Poll: Humza Yousaf's performance as first minister disappoints Scots

A new poll revealed that half of Scots believe the first minister is doing a bad job, while only a small minority (23 per cent) believe that he is performing well.

According to the YouGov survey, fewer than a fifth of voters said that Humza Yousaf is performing well in key areas such as the economy, the NHS and the cost of living crisis, reported The Telegraph.

His performance has deteriorated since a similar poll was conducted weeks after he took over from Nicola Sturgeon as first minister.

The survey coincided with Yousaf's first 100 days in office. He was sworn in as Scotland's first minister in March, becoming the first Muslim leader of a government in western Europe.

At 37, Yousaf was also the youngest leader yet of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and vowed to reinvigorate its flagging campaign for independence.

Only a small minority of Scots (15 per cent) believe that Humza Yousaf has done a good job on the cost-of-living crisis, while a majority (60 per cent) believe the opposite.

Similarly, only 17 per cent of Scots approve of his stewardship of the economy, while 55 per cent did not. Also, only 18 per cent of Scots believe he has done a good job on healthcare, while 56 per cent disagree with this.

The poll also showed that support for Scottish independence had declined since the previous poll in April. The number of people who said they would vote for separation fell from 39 per cent to 37 per cent, while the number of people who would vote no increased to 46 per cent.

Yousaf faced a number of challenges since becoming first minister. He has been unable to contain the scandal over party finances, which led to his predecessor's arrest. He has also been forced to reverse key policies, such as the bottle return scheme and fishing bans.

While he has been able to avoid strike action in the NHS by signing off large pay settlements, waiting times are getting worse, The Telegraph report added.

“The only surprise is that just half those responding think Humza Yousaf’s doing a terrible job. While Humza pushes his independence obsession, the health service is at breaking point, the ferries fiasco continues, public services have been slashed and a further £1 billion black hole in the budget has been announced," Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tory chairman, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Meanwhile, polls suggest that Labour is quickly closing the gap on the SNP. In a recent survey, the party was just three points behind the nationalists.

The Scottish Tories are hoping to win over voters in rural areas by criticising SNP's policies and their coalition deal with the Scottish Greens.

“In his first 100 days, Humza Yousaf defined the core missions of his administration – equality, opportunity, community – and introduced substantial measures to help achieve these aims. Putting the needs of people is at the heart of everything we do as a government," said a spokesman for Yousaf.