New SNP leader Humza Yousaf voted in as Scotland’s first minister
The SNP leader, Humza Yousaf, has been voted in by MSPs as Scotland’s youngest first minister and the first from a minority ethnic background.
The 37-year-old succeeds Nicola Sturgeon, who formally tendered her resignation to the king on Tuesday morning after announcing her intention to stand down last month after more than eight years in the post.
Yousaf’s election at Holyrood comes after he won the SNP leadership contest on Monday, beating his closest rival, Kate Forbes, by picking up 52% of votes compared with her 48%, when second preferences were included.
Humza Yousaf: continuity candidate taking over as Scottish first minister
Read more
The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, and the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, all stood against Yousaf for the position of first minister in the Holyrood vote but failed to secure enough support.
Yousaf won the votes of 71 fellow MSPs, with members of the SNP and Greens backing his candidacy for first minister of Scotland.
The 31 Tory MSPs voted for Ross while 22 of the Labour contingent voted for Sarwar. The four Lib Dem MSPs backed Cole-Hamilton.
2:36
Humza Yousaf: who is the new leader of the SNP? – video profile
Speaking ahead of the vote, Yousaf referred to the fact he and Sarwar were of Pakistani Muslim heritage. He said: “It’s also quite a signal of the progress that we have made as a country, as well as a parliament, that two of the candidates putting themselves forward are from minority ethnic communities.
“That the majority of MSPs in this parliament belong to parties led by two people of colour, two people of the Muslim faith. The fact that no one bats an eyelid at this tells me we are making progress in our nation for which we should all be very, very proud.”
He said his government would “listen carefully and pay respect” to the views of all MSPs while standing up to any attempts to “undermine devolution”.
Sarwar pledged to continue to work alongside the new first minister in their fight against racism. The Scottish Labour leader welcomed Yousaf to his position as the first first minister from a minority ethnic background, saying: “It is something our grandparents would never, ever have imagined when they arrived in this country and made Scotland their home.”
Sign up to First Edition
Free daily newsletter
Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters
Enter your email address
Sign up
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
He added: “I know that he has faced personal abuse and racism, as have so many others who don’t have the platform that he and I are fortunate to have. I am proud of the work we have done alongside others to stand against hatred and bigotry, and my promise is that I will continue to stand alongside you in that fight for all of us.”
The Scottish secretary, Alister Jack, congratulated Yousaf on becoming first minister, adding: “The UK government wants to work constructively with him on the issues that matter to people in Scotland.”
He said he was “pleased” that Yousaf told the Scottish parliament he also wanted to work together.
Jack added: “I hope that Mr Yousaf will govern for the whole of Scotland. In particular, I hope he will put his obsession with independence aside and concentrate on working with the UK government to make life better for people in Scotland.”
The Glasgow Pollok MSP will officially be sworn in as first minister at the court of session in Edinburgh on Wednesday.