AFTER 16 years of SNP government in Scotland, we have become used to seeing just a few high-profile figures. I feel reasonably confident that few members of the public could name no more than a handful of SNP Scottish ministers.

Nicola Sturgeon has been so dominant as First Minister that others were hardly visible. Polling this week has shown that when the wider electorate was asked how well the two frontrunners to replace Sturgeon — Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes — had done in their ministerial roles, 40 per cent and 51 per cent respectively said “don’t know.” Thirty-eight per cent thought Yousaf had been “bad” or “very bad” — hardly a ringing endorsement.

Yousaf is described as the continuity candidate. This must mean continuity in lack of vision and poor delivery. His constant exposure to press and TV coverage was not of the positive sort.