ISLAMABAD: Humza Yousaf, who first succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and now was declared the country’s first minister, is the most prominent Muslim politician in Scotland.
After John Swinney, 58, who remained the deputy first minister and former leader of the SNP in the early 2000s, ruled himself out in February not to run for the top slot, two candidates Yousaf, 37, and Kate Forbes, 32, confirmed their intention to succeed Sturgeon.
Yousaf launched his campaign on February 22 in Clydebank, a town about 8 miles west of Glasgow that was once known for its shipbuilding history because his grandfather, Mohammed Yousaf, got his first job in Scotland after emigrating in 1962 at the massive Singer sewing machine factory, which was once a major employer for the town.
At the public rally, he praised Scotland’s inclusive, diverse culture, claiming that his candidature was proof of this. He said his grandfather “couldn’t have imagined, not even in his wildest dreams, that his grandson would be running for the slot of the first minister of Scotland.”
Yousaf’s father, Muzaffar, was born in Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan, and emigrated to Glasgow with his family in the 1960s, and worked as an accountant. His mother, Shaaista Bhutta, was born in Kenya to a family of South Asian descent that later emigrated to Scotland.
He has experience having served in government since 2012 as justice secretary and transport minister.
His supporters said he is a polished communicator best positioned to unite the party and maintain the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens after a deeply fractious leadership contest.
The ‘continuity candidate’
Humza Yousaf is a close ally of Sturgeon and is normally seen as the “continuity candidate” who would seek to continue the work of the outgoing first minister.
He is one of the three contenders who said they would challenge the UK government’s block on Sturgeon’s controversial gender recognition reforms in the courts, arguing that independence would only be won if the party continues to shove “progressive values”.
But he stressed that he would go to court if the legal advice suggested a challenge could be successful.
Humza has distanced himself from Sturgeon’s plan to use the next election as a de facto referendum, saying he would instead seek to build a “consistent bulk” in favour of independence and it “is not good enough to have polls that put support for independence at 50 per cent or 51 per cent”.
But he has attempted to reach out to more impatient independence supporters by saying he would consider calling a snap Holyrood election to test support for leaving the United Kingdom.
Humza rejected claims that the party hierarchy was doing everything possible to ensure he won the leadership contest following allegations that the shortened campaign was designed to favour him.
And he has said he would be willing to listen to concerns over controversial policies such as proposals for a new national care service and the bottle return.
‘Do things my own way’
Speaking to BBC Scotland’s on Sunday Show earlier in the contest, Humza Yousaf insisted he was his “own man and would do things my own way”.
Humza said, “I have much admiration, as you would imagine, for Nicola Sturgeon’s good work as the first minister.
“But she had a certain leadership approach. Mine would be less inner circle and a big tent.”
Critics claim that Humza has “failed upwards” with some accomplishments to show for his time in government, with Labour’s Jackie Baillie expressing him as “the worst health secretary on record” who “now aspires to be the worst the first minister on the record”.
Hamza faced questions over his failure to take part in the final vote on gay marriage in 2014, which he said was due to having a vital meeting about a Scot who was being held on death row in Pakistan on blasphemy charges.
