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LONDON — Humza Yousaf, the grandson of a Pakistani immigrant who spoke barely English to work in a sewing machine factory in Glasgow, was named the new leader of the Scottish National Party on Monday.
Due to his party’s majority, Yousaf will almost certainly be elected First Minister – the leader of Scotland – by Parliament on Tuesday.
At 37, Yousaf will become Scotland’s youngest First Minister and the first Muslim to lead the nation. His mother, who wears a headscarf, shed a tear as he spoke after the voting results were announced.
Rishi Sunak and the curious arc of history
His rise to Scottish leader coincides with the premiership of Rishi Sunak, a Hindu whose parents are also South Asians. London’s Mayor is Sadiq Khan, a Muslim and son of Pakistani immigrants. Today, Sunak, Khan and Yousaf are three of the most prominent – and most powerful – leaders in Britain.
He vowed on Monday to continue his party’s push to leave the UK and become a fully independent nation. “We will be the generation that brings independence,” he promised.
But the way forward is unclear. A spokesman for 10 Downing Street said Sunak would not support another referendum.
Beyond independence, the SNP’s new leader said he would focus on the high cost of living, improving educational opportunities and access to an often-overwhelmed national health service. Opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer said Yousef and his party “have no answers about the NHS or the cost of living crisis”.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, a member of the Scottish Parliament, tweeted: “This is as old as it is old. The SNP is tired and out of touch and it doesn’t look like Humza Yousaf wants to do any better.”
Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon, who announced last month that she is stepping down after more than eight years in the role and said she no longer felt she could no longer do the job. She also worried that she had become a polarizing figure in a country divided over its future in the UK.
Sturgeon became First Secretary eight years ago after the failed independence referendum in 2014, succeeding her older mentor, later antagonist, former SNP leader Alex Salmond.
Sturgeon urged then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow Scotland to hold another vote because Brexit – which most Scottish voters opposed – had changed the landscape. But Johnson insisted the 2014 drill was a “once-in-a-generation vote.”
After Johnson denied her a referendum and she lost an appeal in the UK Supreme Court, Sturgeon turned around and said the next nationwide general election, due no later than January 2025, should serve as a “de facto referendum” on independence. This idea was not very popular.
Zeal for independence has mostly remained flat. A majority backed the idea at a point in the pandemic when many in Scotland thought Sturgeon had handled the crisis better than the UK government. But support has since declined.
A recent poll showed that 44 per cent of Scots supported independence compared to 56 per cent who did not – pretty much the same split as in 2014 when 45 per cent said yes and 55 per cent said no.
The Scottish Government under Sturgeon was also in turmoil over Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Act, which would have made it easier for transgender people aged 16 to change their legal gender. The law was stopped by the British government.
The new leader of the SNP takes positions similar to those of his predecessor on most issues. He supports same-sex marriage, he said, telling the BBC last month: “I don’t use my faith as a basis for legislation,” adding that the government needs to “think about what we think is in society’s best interests.” as a whole.”
Yousaf is a career politician who has progressed from activist to legislative adviser to Member of the Scottish Parliament. In a close three-way battle, Yousaf received 52 percent of the vote against 48 percent for Treasury Secretary Kate Forbes. The election was made exclusively by SNP members – with a turnout of 70 percent.