UNS/Reuters : Scottish nationalists picked Humza Yousaf to be the country’s next leader on Monday after a bitterly fought contest that exposed deep divisions in his party over policy and a stalled independence campaign.
The 37-year-old practicing Muslim succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP) and will take over as head of the semi-autonomous government once he wins an approval vote in the Scottish parliament.
Setting out his goals, Yousaf said he would concentrate on tackling the cost of living crisis, ending the divisions in the party, and making a renewed push for independence.
“The people of Scotland need independence now, more than ever before and we will be the generation that delivers independence,” he said in a speech in Edinburgh after the results were announced.
Yousaf’s victory was confirmed at the country’s national rugby ground after a six-week campaign where the three candidates spent much of the contest criticising each other’s record in a series of personal attacks.
The SNP’s unity, which had been one of its strengths, broke down over arguments about how to achieve a second independence referendum and the best way to introduce social reforms such as transgender rights.
Yousaf takes over a party with an overriding objective to end Scotland’s three-centuries-long union with England. His predecessor stepped down after the British government repeatedly blocked a route to a new vote on independence.
While about four in 10 Scots support independence, according to a poll this month, the departure of Sturgeon — a charismatic and commanding leader — may initially slow some of the momentum behind a break up of the United Kingdom.
The often bad-tempered leadership contest has relieved some pressure on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is dealing with divisions in his own party, waves of industrial action, and high levels of inflation.
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