Three candidates are in the running to replace First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland after her surprise resignation from the head of the independence party SNP, a particularly important election for the future of the United Kingdom.
The SNP made the nominees official on Friday: local Finance Minister Kate Forbes, 32, whose recent remarks on gay marriage sparked strong reactions in her left-leaning party, local Health Minister Humza Yousaf, 37 , the first Muslim member of the Scottish government, and Ash Regan, 48, a former minister who resigned in 2022 because he opposed the controversial gender transitions bill.
Nicola Sturgeon, 52, in power since 2014 and whose goal has always been Scottish independence, announced that she was throwing in the towel on February 15, explaining that she no longer had the energy necessary.
After a brief campaign, an internal SNP vote will decide his successor, who will be announced on March 27.
Nicola Sturgeon remains in post during the transition.
The three candidates have promised to take up the torch for independence.
On Friday, Humza Yousaf assured that he would be “a Prime Minister for all of Scotland”, to tackle record inflation and to use “all the talents of the party to achieve independence”.
In a post to ‘independence supporters’ on Twitter, Ms Regan promised ‘an ‘Independence Convention’ from Day 1, saying independence was ‘an immediate priority’.
After the failure of the first referendum on the issue in 2014, Ms Sturgeon wanted a second referendum, which London strongly opposed. She wanted to make the local elections in 2026 a de facto referendum for or against independence, a controversial choice even within her party, while polls show a very divided electorate, with a slight advantage for the “no” to independence.
This issue has, however, been overshadowed in recent days by statements by Kate Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, a minority from the Presbyterian Church, who said that if she had been a member of the Scottish Parliament in 2014 she would have voted against gay marriage and would not have voted the gender transitions bill in December either. She also said that according to her faith, having children out of wedlock was “wrong”.
Several elected members of the local Holyrood Parliament withdrew their support for her, but she refused to quit the race.
On Friday, she put forward her “vision” of “tolerance” for Scotland, in a column published by The Times. She preaches a “radical new vision (…) centered “on the economy”.
According to a poll on Friday, she is the best placed with 28% support among 1,001 Scots polled who voted SNP in 2021. 20% prefer Humza Yousaf, Ms. Regan is at 7%. The race remains very open, with 31% of respondents not having decided on their position.
According to this poll, 65% believe that the immediate priority of the new Scottish Prime Minister should be the crisis in the cost of living and health services (58%) far ahead of independence (30%), although 61% want a self-determination referendum within two years.
Humza Yousaf, the current Minister of Health, is seen as the candidate for continuity and highlights his experience in the Scottish government. He garnered the most support from SNP MPs.
The poll is very important for the future of the United Kingdom, whose divisions between the four constituent nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) have been deepened by Brexit.
The shock announcement of Nicola Sturgeon’s departure left a huge void. In eight years in power – a record – the leader who arrived after the “no” victory in 2014 had managed to revive her defeated camp and accumulated electoral success.
The independence cause was revived by Brexit, which had been opposed by 62% of Scots, with the SNP seeing a break with London as the way to return to the European Union.
Scottish local government is responsible for many matters including education, health and justice. Scotland has 5.5 million inhabitants.
02/24/2023 17:35:25 – Edinburgh (AFP) – © 2023 AFP