Humza, who is perceived as ‘weak’, is likely to face a rebellion within his leadership before Christmas.

If Humza Yousaf does not make significant changes to the party following their embarrassing by-election loss, SNP rebels have cautioned that he will encounter a rebellion before Christmas.

If Mr. Yousaf does not make significant changes to the SNP’s direction after losing Rutherglen and Hamilton West to Labour on Thursday, enraged nationalists have promised to initiate a leadership rebellion, deeming him as ‘weak’.

Last night, they strongly urged the First Minister to prioritize addressing the cost of living crisis faced by ordinary Scots, rather than dedicating attention to independence plans and environmentally friendly initiatives.

They have also stated that, in order to save the party from being forgotten in the upcoming general election, Mr. Yousaf needs to urgently rearrange the Cabinet to remove ineffective members.

One source suggested Mr Yousaf broker a ‘peace deal’ with former leadership rival Kate Forbes and install her as his deputy to steady the ship. 

Following forecasts by a prominent pollster, there are intentions to initiate a rebellion in response to the prediction that the SNP’s representation in Westminster would decrease from 48 to only six seats if the Rutherglen outcome were to be replicated nationwide in the upcoming general election.

In a significant by-election loss for the Nationalists, Labour’s Michael Shanks emerged as the Member of Parliament (MP) with a substantial majority of 9,446 votes. This result reflects a swing of 20.4 percentage points away from the SNP.

In his initial interview following the outcome, MSP Fergus Ewing, known for his outspoken nature, has granted Mr. Yousaf a two-month period to prove his ability to lead the party.

Mr Ewing, a key ally of Ms Forbes, said: ‘We’ve seriously lost trust. We must change course and we must change course radically. That must be done now and before Christmas.

If that does not occur, then I am concerned about the SNP’s prospects in elections because once trust is lost, winning elections becomes unlikely.

‘It is only salvageable if Humza is honest and stands up there in Holyrood and says: ‘We’ve got a number of things wrong. 

I have taken the outcome into consideration and received feedback from individuals. We will be implementing significant modifications, which I will disclose in the upcoming weeks. This is the only action required.

For instance, he might desire to alter his team or rearrange it.

“I believe that if he chooses to make a change, people will reconsider their opinions of him,” stated Mr Ewing, who is the son of SNP veteran Winnie Ewing.

If he fails to become a successful leader, then it won’t happen.

The MSP for Inverness and Nairn’s stark warning comes as SNP insiders last night suggested there could be an impending ‘mutiny’ against Mr Yousaf’s leadership in the wake of last week’s drubbing.

A source from one party stated that there are several individuals who are currently observing the situation from a distance, but if there is no change in direction soon, there will definitely be a rebellion.

Someone else commented: ‘Since the incident in Rutherglen, he appears to be feeble. Instead of constantly discussing the steps to attain a second independence referendum, our priority should be to increase support for independence initially.

We must strive to reinstate an efficient administration and eliminate impractical measures such as gender reform.

Pay attention to the aspects that hold significant importance for individuals, such as initiatives for constructing houses or addressing significant financial deficits in public services.

Humza’s time is running out. If he fails to take action before Christmas, he and his group will face serious consequences.

Ahead of the SNP conference next week, insiders have also said Mr Yousaf must drop his motion that would allow him to begin independence ­negotiations if his party wins the most seats at the next general election. ‘That idea is just incredible in the wake of Rutherglen,’ one source said.

Last night, when asked about the possibility of Ms Forbes being appointed as Deputy First Minister to prevent a leadership challenge, her friends declined to provide any comments.

The former finance secretary was uncontactable, having jetted abroad on Friday after the by-election result.

However, when considering the reasons behind his party’s electoral struggles on Thursday, Mr. Ewing outlined the three factors that led to the downfall of the SNP.

He stated that trust is the fundamental currency of politics, and we have unfortunately experienced a significant decline in trust.

The devaluation of our currency in the past two years can be attributed to various factors, but I believe that the connection with the Greens has had a significantly negative impact.

There are numerous individuals who have apprehensions, aversion, and lack of trust towards the Greens, believing that they should not hold positions in the government. Furthermore, they strongly oppose the idea of willingly including them in the government.

He went on to explain that the second reason is due to the numerous promises we have made but failed to fulfill, which people are now bringing to our attention.

If the A9 and A96 in the Highlands are not addressed in the promised autumn statement, the SNP may as well close down in the Highlands.

“It is equally negative due to its transformation into a highly significant symbol. You made a promise but have not fulfilled it.”

He further stated that the policies we have been implementing do not align well with societal norms.

The SNP is not appreciating, commending, compensating, expressing gratitude towards, or assisting people. Instead, they are constantly criticizing, lecturing, and causing distress.

Mr Ewing, who was this month disciplined by the SNP for voting against Green Minister Lorna Slater in a vote of no confidence, said: ‘The ethos of the SNP was we put Scotland first. I think we’ve moved away from that. 

We distanced ourselves from this approach by penalizing fishermen for operating in HPMAs, penalizing small businesses for implementing deposit return systems, and penalizing law-abiding and diligent short-term rental providers.

From his location in Glasgow, he confessed, “We are depriving people of their means of making a living.”

With tears filling his eyes, he expressed, “However, it goes beyond that by diminishing people’s spirit and hope.”

We appear to be unaware that our actions are causing harm to individuals. We are not assisting people and we are not prioritizing Scotland in any way.

Mr Yousaf acknowledged that it had been a “disappointing night for the SNP” in Dundee on Friday, as he failed to attend the by-election count.

He stated that he is ultimately responsible, but acknowledged that this specific by-election was challenging due to certain contextual factors.