The Scottish government knows the new face of whoever will lead it. This is Humza Yousaf. At 37, Nicola Sturgeon’s former Minister of Health came out on top in the internal ballot organized on Monday, March 27, 2023, by the independence party Scottish National Party (SNP), with 52.1% of the votes cast, against Finance Minister Kate Forbes. He also won the first round, with 48.2% of the vote.
In a speech delivered shortly after his victory, the now new Scottish Prime Minister said he was “the generation that will gain independence” from Scotland. While that fight appears to be deadlocked, with London stubbornly refusing to hold a new referendum, he said “the people of Scotland need independence now more than ever”.
He thus became the first Muslim to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. He is to be elected Prime Minister on Tuesday by the local Parliament in Edinburgh.
2023 SNP leadership election, result First preferences: 48.2% | Humza Yousaf 40.7% | Kate Forbes 11.0% | Ash Regan
He therefore succeeds Nicola Sturgeon, who resigned on February 15 after eight years in power, explaining that she no longer had the energy to govern. It had been weakened after London blocked a controversial law facilitating gender reassignment by allowing recognition of gender reassignment without medical advice and from the age of 16.
Following the election, Nicola Sturgeon said she had “every confidence” that her successor would succeed in leading Scotland to independence.
