Humza Yousaf is SNP’s newly elected leader, and potential next first minister of Scotland

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 27 March, 2023

 

• Humza Yousaf was chosen as the new SNP leader, defeating Kate Forbes by a vote of 52 per cent to 48 per cent.
• 37-year-old to become the first person from a minority ethnic group to lead Scotland and the first to assume the First Minister role.
• Only Yousaf has stated that he will sue the UK government after Rishi Sunak and his ministers blocked gender self-ID legislation.

HUMZA YOUSAF has won the election to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as the head of the Scottish National party, making him eligible to take office as the first minister of Scotland.

In the second round of voting, the 37-year-old health secretary received 52.1 per cent of the votes from SNP members, defeating Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, who received 47.9 per cent. Former community safety minister Ash Regan was defeated in the first round of voting.

“It is hard for me to find the words to describe just how honoured I am to be entrusted by our membership of the SNP to be the party’s next leader and to be on the cusp of being our country’s first minister,” Humza Yousaf said this afternoon (March 27) after the result was announced.

Yousaf also paid tribute to colleagues Forbes and Regan, adding: “It’s felt we’ve seen each other more than our respective families.

“You both have put in an incredible shift, and I know that collectively we will work hard as part of Team SNP.”

 

 

Out of the three candidates, only Yousaf, has stated that he will keep suing the UK government after Rishi Sunak and his ministers blocked the gender self-ID legislation. Rishi Sunak’s government has blocked legislation passed by the Scottish parliament that made Scotland the first part of the UK to introduce a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.

Yousaf subsequently shared his outrage when the UK government decided to block the bill earlier this year in what he and several others described as an “unprecedented attack” on the Scottish parliament.

“My starting point is that I’ve been a minority in this country my whole life. I have understood that you have to fight for your rights, but my rights don’t exist in a vacuum or in isolation. They exist because other people’s rights exist too”, he said, following the UK government’s use of a Section 35 order to block the legislation.

Yousaf has pledged to “work tirelessly” to improve the rights of women and girls if he is elected to succeed Nicola Sturgeon. He also promised action to improve abortion care in Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is leaving office, congratulated Humza Yousaf. Even though she made no endorsements, it was widely believed that she supported Yousaf’s election.

Keir Starmer, MP and Leader of the Labour Party tweeted: “Congratulations to @HumzaYousaf – the First Minister of an ethnic minority background is a significant moment for Scotland. The SNP do not have the answers on the NHS or on the cost-of-living crisis.”

The declaration in Edinburgh ended a six-week campaign that became bitter as the three candidates criticised each other’s track records. Following a legislative vote in Holyrood on Tuesday (28), Yousaf will be sworn in as first minister on Wednesday (29), becoming the first member of an ethnic minority to hold the role.

Yousaf declared that he will redouble his efforts to secure Scottish independence after being chosen as the Scottish National Party’s leader.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed Humza Yousaf’s proposal for a second Scottish independence referendum just hours after it became known that Yousaf will take over as the party’s leader. Sunak, on the other hand, expressed his eagerness to collaborate with Yousaf.