Humza Yousaf 'very willing' to work with next Labour government

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he is "very willing" to work with the next Labour government if Sir Keir Starmer becomes prime minister.

The SNP leader said he was "absolutely sure" that his party would win the most seats in Scotland - despite some polls putting them neck and neck with Labour.

Mr Yousaf told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show that "support for independence is absolutely rock solid".

And he was confident the Tories could be "wiped off the map in Scotland".

The first minister said: "Keir Starmer is 20 to 25% ahead in the polls, he is going to be the next prime minister of the United Kingdom.

"I don't think you could point me to a single poll that doesn't just show that isn't the case, but you probably couldn't even show me a single poll that suggests it is marginal.

"Keir Starmer does not need Scotland to win."

He added that he had written to Sir Keir to invite him to Edinburgh for talks on how their parties could co-operate.

"I think there's plenty we can work on," Mr Yousaf said.

"There'll be disagreements, the constitution perhaps being the obvious one, but I do think there's plenty of areas we could work on."

When asked about what policies areas would be covered, the SNP leader said Sir Keir should commit to scrapping the two-child benefit limit.

"In doing so, he would lift 250,000 children out of poverty across the UK, 15,000 children here in Scotland," said Mr Yousaf.

"Let's scrap the bedroom tax, which is keeping too many people in poverty."

Ten years on from the Scottish independence referendum, Laura Kuenssberg asked Mr Yousaf if he accepted another vote was not going to happen any time soon.

The first minister denied that and said: "I want the SNP to win the general election to help to send a really strong message to Westminster that Scotland will not be ignored."

Mr Yousaf, who succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister in March 2023, also defended Scotland's "progressive" tax system, despite Conservative claims that many Scots are now paying more than people in the rest of the UK

He said the SNP was asking the top 5% of earners "to pay a little more" so that policies such as free university education and childcare services could be provided.

Mr Yousaf said he believed people "will recognise that we've prioritised public services over tax cuts for the wealthy".