After a fiercely contested election that exposed significant policy differences within his party and a faltering independence movement, Scottish nationalists chose Humza Yousaf to govern the nation on Monday.
After winning a vote of confidence in the Scottish parliament, the 37-year-old practising Muslim succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP). He will then assume control of the country’s de facto government.
Yousaf outlined his objectives and stated that he will focus on solving the party’s divides, addressing the cost of living crisis, and reviving the independence movement.
At a speech in Edinburgh following the referendum, he declared, “The people of Scotland need independence now, more than ever before, and we will be the generation that delivers independence.”
After a six-week campaign in which the three candidates spent the most of the time attacking one another personally and criticising each other’s record, Yousaf’s victory was officially announced at the nation’s rugby stadium.
One of the SNP’s strengths—unity—broke down due to disagreements on how to hold a second independence referendum and the best approach to enact social reforms like transgender rights.
Yousaf takes control of a party whose main goal is to dissolve Scotland’s three-century union with England. Because the British government consistently obstructed a path to a second vote on independence, his predecessor resigned.
The retirement of Sturgeon, a charismatic and powerful leader, may initially moderate some of the momentum towards a break up of the United Kingdom, even if approximately four in ten Scots favour independence, according to a poll conducted this month.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is coping with disputes in his own party, waves of industrial action, and high inflation, has felt some of the pressure from the frequently heated leadership race.
In the second round of voting, Yousaf received 52% of the SNP members’ votes, defeating finance secretary Kate Forbes, who received 48%.
