EDINBURGH-The Scottish National Party (SNP) will fight the next general election in the United Kingdom with independence “front and centre” of its campaign, First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Saturday. Addressing a conference of Scotland’s governing party in the city of Dundee, Yousaf vowed he would seek fresh negotiations with the UK government about independence if the SNP wins the most Scottish seats in the election expected next year. “Let me be clear, if the SNP does win this election, then the people will have spoken,” he said. “We will seek negotiations with the UK Government on how we give democratic effect to Scotland becoming an independent nation.”  Yousaf’s remarks come as public support wanes for the SNP after the arrest of its former leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon, the key figurehead of the independence movement in recent years.
The Dundee meeting is the first in-person conference since Yousaf, 38, replaced her in March, and the party started to see a drastic slide in its popularity.
Sturgeon, who came to power after the last -- failed -- 2014 referendum on Scotland breaking away from the UK, unexpectedly announced her resignation in February, saying she lacked the “energy” to carry on.