Humza Yousaf

Humza Yousaf has won the Scottish National Party leadership contest and is set to become Scotland's First Minister replacing Nicola Sturgeon, ...

Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45% in 2014. “To serve my country as First Minister will be the greatest privilege and honor of my life,” Yousaf added. Yousaf, who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Pollok since 2016 and for Glasgow between 2011 and 2016, is the first Muslim and non-white cabinet minister to have served in the Scottish Government.

Humza Yousaf has been elected the new head of the Scottish National Party by party members. In a speech following the announcement, he said he felt like the ...

He continued that building support for the cause would need to be done "on the doorstep." If approved on Tuesday, he will be the country's sixth leader since the establishment of the Scottish parliament in 1999. "Scotland is a European nation. In November, the U.K.'s highest court government, which opposes the move. Sturgeon generated both praise and significant controversy over recent [decision](https://news.sky.com/story/uk-government-blocks-scotlands-gender-reform-bill-in-constitutional-first-12787916) to block the gender reforms, but that he would be [guided](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65036907) by legal advice in doing so. [reforms](https://news.sky.com/story/why-is-scotlands-gender-recognition-reform-bill-controversial-12788818) to gender legislation in Scotland, and leaves behind a [mixed legacy](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-sturgeons-time-as-scotlands-first-minister-in-10-charts-12811812) on domestic issues. The SNP supports the campaign for Scotland to gain independence from the United Kingdom and holds a majority of 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish parliament, giving it control over - In a speech following the announcement, he said he felt like the "luckiest man in the world" and would lead in the interest of all party members and lead Scotland in the interest of all citizens. - The SNP supports the campaign for Scotland to gain independency from the United Kingdom and holds a majority of 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish parliament, giving it control over devolved areas that include housing, education, justice, local government and areas of taxation. Humza Yousaf on Monday was elected the new head of the Scottish National Party, promising in a speech to bring the party together, support citizens with the cost-of-living crisis and deliver independence from the United Kingdom.

Mr Humza Yousaf emerged victorious in the race for First Minister of Scotland, following Ms Nicola Sturgeon's surprise resignation. PHOTOS: EPA-EFE, REUTERS.

[to serve a prison sentence in a women-only facility.](https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/scotland-to-move-convicted-rapist-trans-woman-out-of-female-prison) But Labour is hoping Ms Sturgeon’s departure could provide a path for a potential comeback north of the English border that would pave the way to defeat the Conservatives in the next UK election. [rejected such a move in a 2014 vote.](https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/scotland-decides-scotland-votes-no-to-independence) [waning popular support for breaking away.](https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/scotland-set-for-new-leader-as-independence-quest-stalls) [Mr Rishi Sunak became the youngest UK prime minister](https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/swift-rise-to-pm-but-some-doubt-rishi-sunak-can-win-uk-elections) in modern times when he entered Downing Street aged 42. He is set to be sworn in as first minister on Wednesday, becoming the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.

He faces the challenge of uniting the SNP and re-energising its campaign for Scottish independence from the UK.

Narrowly elected as the new leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party Monday (SNP), Yousaf faces the monumental task of bringing together a party ...

this is a disaster that even the best political operator would drown in,” Mackay said. Optimistic SNP supporters put the drop down to drift, meaning members simply forgot to renew amid the pandemic and then cost-of-living crisis. “He’ll need to reach out and use all the talent available to put the best team together. If he can show progress on public service delivery and the economy then SNP can see off challenge from Labour.” “Even the [SNP] establishment probably see him as a placeholder for someone better.” “When you were transport minister, the trains were never on time,” Forbes told Yousaf in that debate. “When you were justice minister, the police were strained to breaking point. Low turnout in the leadership election — just 70 percent of eligible members cast their votes — will only add to doubt about whether the SNP remains an engaging force. Speaking in Edinburgh Monday, Yousaf vowed to “lead the SNP in the interests of all party members, not just those who voted for me” and to “lead Scotland in the interests of all of our citizens.” The party split over both issues, with politicians once loyal to Sturgeon beginning to openly express their discontent. “Humza has a lot of work to do to bring the party together, and deliver competent government that people want to see,” one senior SNP MSP said. Indeed, Yousaf now faces the prospect of leading a party that only narrowly voted for him — and the closeness of the result is likely to be studied closely because Forbes at one point looked definitively out for the count.

The bitterly fought contest exposed deep divisions in the SNP over policy and a stalled independence campaign.

Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45% in 2014. Ash Regan, who had quit the government because of her opposition to proposed changes to gender recognition, was eliminated in the first round. His predecessor stepped down after the British government repeatedly blocked a route to a new vote on independence. While Forbes faced criticism when she announced her opposition to same-sex marriage, Yousaf said he supports it. In 2016, Yousaf took his oath of allegiance in the Scottish parliament in Urdu while wearing a kilt, and he has referred to himself as coming from a "bhangra and bagpipes" heritage. Yousaf has spoken of the need to focus on building the case for independence and achieving consistent support for the movement, adding that he was open minded on which process to pursue once that level of support was achieved.

Scottish health secretary set to become first minister on Wednesday after securing 52% of vote.

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New leader needs to convince Scotland that he can take the SNP in a fresh direction.

Yousaf’s allies suggest he has been underestimated but admit it is up to him to demonstrate his talents. It will involve countering his rival Kate Forbes’s attack that he was incompetent in the three policy briefs he held. He initially said he would take legal action, but then suggested he would only proceed if the advice suggested he could win. Yet his opponents suggest that if there was any real hope of another independence referendum, Sturgeon would still be in post. “He’s got to show he’s prepared to do that,” one said of Yousaf. Downing Street has already made it clear that Sunak’s response to Yousaf will be no different.

Humza Yousaf faces some enormous challenges as he takes over from Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister. Being the leader of a divided ...

At the start of the leadership contest Humza Yousaf seemed committed to challenging that position in court. While that is substantially true, it may not be the only factor. I expect that whatever she might be offered, Kate Forbes would want a fair amount of autonomy if she is to continue in government. Then of course there are significant policy issues to be addressed. That's not a prediction. In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the "bruising" nature of the leadership campaign and called for divisions to be healed quickly.

The new SNP leader has vowed to fight to protect the rights of all minorities. Read more at straitstimes.com.

He also vowed to be his own man as Scotland’s first minister. He says he will “always fight for the equal rights of others” and not legislate based on his own faith. Mr Yousaf insisted he had a prior engagement, and contrasts his own record to Ms Forbes’ religiously conservative views as a member of a Scottish evangelical church. The Glasgow-born Yousaf took his oath in English and Urdu when he was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, before progressing to become the first Muslim to serve in the devolved government’s cabinet. And, as his wife and mother brushed away tears, he paid tribute to his paternal grandparents, who came to Scotland from Pakistan in the 1960s and barely spoke English. Despite the British government’s opposition to a new referendum, and a Supreme Court setback, Mr Yousaf vowed in his victory speech on Monday to deliver independence in this generation.

This bitterly fought contest has only widened divisions, and the opposition parties are already circling, says Herald columnist Dani Garavelli.

But the Greens would have been the likely beneficiaries of a mass exit of “woke” members, and Forbes might have proved a challenging adversary across the chamber. It is impossible yet to know if Scottish Labour will rise to the occasion and capitalise on the widening faultlines within the SNP. And, of course, there is still the police probe into the [£600,000 of funds](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nicola-sturgeon-600k-husband-investigation-b2283471.html) said to have gone missing from the party’s accounts (the party has not responded to the allegation, due to the ongoing investigation). [new taxes for the wealthy](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/humza-yousaf-back-wealth-tax-29553552) is preferable to Forbes’s more conservative economic bent. The divisions within the party, and the miasma of failure around it, have only increased as a result of a bitterly fought contest and a relentless succession of bad news stories, something that is evident in the tight result. It was a growing recognition that the Salmond/Sturgeon era had run out of steam that led to her resignation. One of the quirks of the contest was that many unionist activists and commentators seemed to be lobbying for Forbes, which suggests they thought a victory for her would most boost their own position. Meanwhile, his predisposition to fight the UK government on its section 35 obstruction of the SNP’s [gender recognition reform bill](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/16/rishi-sunak-blocks-scotlands-gender-recognition-legislation) may be exactly what the progressives who voted for him want; but it will also rekindle the divisions that helped force his predecessor’s exit. [came through in the end](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/27/humza-yousaf-elected-leader-scottish-national-party-snp), although by a tighter margin than any new leader of a party would want. With no second referendum on the horizon, and Sturgeon out of the picture, the cork has popped off the bottle and will not be forced back in. As the “establishment” candidate, he already has the support of the majority of MSPs and ministers. He will find it easier than Forbes would have done to form a cabinet, and his election makes it unlikely the Greens will walk out of their powersharing deal, as they had already

EDINBURGH: Scotland's devolved lawmakers are set to confirm Humza Yousaf as the country's new first minister on Tuesday (Mar 28), after he narrowly won the ...

Advertisement They would not have imagined "in their wildest dreams" that their future grandson would become the leader of their adopted homeland, he said. Yousaf took his oath in English and Urdu when he was first elected to the Scottish parliament in 2011, before progressing to become the first Muslim to serve in the devolved government's Cabinet. Promising to be a leader "for all of Scotland", he pledged to "kick-start" a civic movement that would "ensure our drive for independence is in fifth gear". "We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message that your colour of skin, or your faith, is not a barrier to leading the country we all call home," Yousaf said after winning the SNP leadership race. The 37-year-old is the first Muslim leader of a major United Kingdom political party and will be the youngest first minister since devolution created the Scottish parliament in 1999.

Newly appointed leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Humza Yousaf speaks at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on March 27, 2023. Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty ...

“We will be the generation that delivers independence for Scotland,” he said in a victory speech. It remains etched into the memories of many who experienced it, and their descendents. Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman also has Indian roots, while London mayor Sadiq Khan was born to a working-class Pakistani immigrant family. In 2014, Scotland voted against independence by 55%. The hardship reached a breaking point when his grandmother was attacked with an axe, he said. His mother was born in Nairobi, Kenya, also to a family from Punjabi descent. But 75 years since the end of the British Raj, many commentators have remarked at how history has come full circle. [interview](https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,interview-humza-yousaf-on-tackling-hate-headon_9401.htm) with Scotland’s Holyrood newspaper, Yousaf explained in detail how his mother’s family faced racial discrimination in the East African city for being seen as taking away jobs from the local population. Yousaf joined the SNP while he was a student at the University of Glasgow and rose through the ranks of the party, becoming a member of parliament in 2011 – the first Muslim and non-White cabinet minister to serve in the Scottish Government. Noor Ahmed, from the Citizen’s Archive of Pakistan, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and historic preservation, described the journey Yousaf has taken as a “Pakistani story that is moving and aspirational, and will be lauded locally.” On Tuesday, the Scottish Parliament will vote to elect the country’s sixth first minister, a position Yousaf is expected to claim as the head of the party with the most lawmakers. “It was time to get away and again, it made sense because there was a British call for people from the Commonwealth to come and take on industrial jobs,” Yousaf said.

Humza Yousaf is not a popular man. The government he takes over isn't very popular either.

He has pledged to be a "first minister for all of Scotland" after being chosen by party members to replace Nicola Sturgeon. Mr Yousaf, who had been serving as ...

Humza Yousaf has indicated he would like to continue that support, and indeed make it more of a priority for the Scottish government. Or does more of the focus need to be on poverty and disadvantage itself? None of these are simple, single issues to be filed away. An appeal for extra funding was met instead with the threat of 10% cuts. There's the clamour, notably from retailers, to reform business rates. Humza Yousaf is well aware of the mammoth task required to fix the problems across health and social care. And there is a question mark over economic strategy. But to deliver that will have to involve unpopular decisions about what the healthcare system can and cannot afford. But worries have been expressed that it is sometimes proving harder for other young people - who are not necessarily actively advantaged - to get places on certain courses. Can the government properly reset its strained relationship with teachers after the recent strike? It wanted to be judged by its progress raising attainment and helping children and young people from disadvantaged areas. Inevitably, the pandemic has thrown up new problems which are still real issues.

Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's first minister tomorrow, after the Scottish parliament ...

Yousaf will then begin the process of assembling his cabinet. Currently first minister-designate, Yousaf will formally become first minister tomorrow morning when he is sworn in at the Court of Session. After second preference votes were taken into account, he won 52.1 percent of the vote compared to 47.9 percent for Forbes.

The 37-year-old was elected Tuesday by lawmakers as the first Muslim leader of not just Scotland—but any Western democracy.

[according to](https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1640340872662327296?s=20) Sunder Katwala, the director of the British Future think tank. That his victory comes so soon after the election of Britain’s Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak](https://time.com/6224248/rishi-sunak-britain-new-prime-minister/) last year and Ireland’s Taoiseach [Leo Varadkar](https://time.com/4810472/leo-varadkar-republic-of-ireland/) returning to power in December 2022 means that, for the first time in history, the British, Scottish, and Irish leaders are all of South Asian origin. The most immediate electoral test for Yousaf will be the next U.K. [the three candidates](https://time.com/6265023/scotland-snp-first-minister-candidates-2023/), which included the Scottish finance secretary Kate Forbes and former junior minister Ash Regan, Yousaf was widely seen as the continuity candidate and the favorite of the SNP leadership (save for Sturgeon, who declined to endorse a successor). Such an outcome would be a major boon for the Scottish Labour and Conservative parties, both of which have struggled to best the SNP in recent elections. “As immigrants of this country who knew barely a word of English, they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that their grandson would one day be on the cusp of being the next First Minister of Scotland,” Yousaf said of his grandparents at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Monday.