For once, Humza Yousaf was only telling it like it is. “This has been a difficult day for the party” he said, after the former Chief Executive of the SNP, Peter Murrell, the husband of the former SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, was arrested by police in Glasgow only to be released without charge 11 hours later pending further investigations.

But can any power couple in history have suffered such an extraordinary reversal of fortune in such a short space of time? Until February, Nicola Sturgeon appeared to be at the top of her game. Under her leadership the SNP had won 8 straight elections and dominated Scottish politics as every level. The opposition parties posed no threat to her and there was not internal rivals to worry about. Then, suddenly, she was gone. Then, three weeks ago, her husband Peter Murrell resigned as Chief Executive following the release to the media of false membership figures.

They could be forgiven for thinking the gods had it in for them. As for the Scottish National Party, as it staggers from crisis to crisis, long suffering members must wonder if things will ever be the same again. As the psephologist, Professor John Curtice remarked on TV, these images cannot easily be erased from the public mind. The new leader Humza Yousaf has enjoyed no honeymoon bounce in the opinion polls. For the Scottish National Party the only way is down.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Economic Matters