Mr Yousaf, who succeeds Nicola Sturgeon, is the country's sixth first minister and first from an ethnic minority background. Coverage of PMQs, answered by deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, on Wednesday 29 March. When Boris Johnson threatened a hard Brexit, Sturgeon threw huge amounts of resources into getting Scotland ready for that, at the expense of other emergency preparations, including pandemic planning. Humza Yousaf, in full Humza Haroon Yousaf, (born April 7, 1985, Glasgow, Scotland), Scottish politician who in 2023 became the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the sixth first minister of Scotland when he replaced the long-serving Nicola Sturgeon. Scotlands law would allow transgender people to have the gender with which they identify legally recognized, and to get a new birth certificate without a medical diagnosis. Your new guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture each weekend from the New Statesman. Yousaf takes over a party with an overriding objective to end Scotland's three-centuries-long union with England. There have been efforts since the pandemic to replace ad hoc relations between the governments with more formal and embedded arrangements. The debate was inflamed by the case of Isla Bryson, who was convicted of raping two women before her gender transition. John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, KG, PC, FSA Scot ( / bjut /; 25 May 1713 - 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. If the question is, can I battle on for another few months, then the answer is yes, of course I can, she said. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 14 June. We must restore the SNPs tradition of internal party democracy, open respectful debate and intellectual rigour and we must also put the welfare of everyone living in Scotland back at the heart of our endeavours, Cherry said on Twitter. He previously held the role of the SNP's leader at Westminster so has had plenty of exposure on the national political stage. Sean MacMillan, 29, said he expected her decision to step down could have an impact on the push for a second independence referendum as she did not have a clear strong successor. Top charity calls out Tory minister's 'blatant falsehoods' over SNP and Sceptics have begun casting doubt on Keir Starmers ostensibly safe 17-point poll lead for Labour. Coverage of questions to the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, on. She certainly has the ambition and competence to be Scotland's first minister (and is married to the ex-leader of the Scottish Labour Party, so presumably knows how to make political compromises!) Since Scotland already has a wide spread of domestic autonomy, it is hard to see what greater devolution a British government could offer. Its population is ageing, with nearly a third over 65 by 2045. The advice the new prime minister receives will be crucial, with Boris Johnson's special adviser on Scotland, Lord Macinnes - a hugely experienced figure - expected to leave Number Ten. The SNP is Scotland's largest party, but as leader, Humza Yousaf doesn't automatically become first minister of Scotland, although it is very likely that he will be. The country deserves nothing less. Former SNP MP Stephen Gethins, now aProfessor of Practice at Scotland's University of St Andrew's, told Euronews that Nicola Sturgeon leaves behind a "very positive legacy.". We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Rishi Sunak has said he would "take on" Nicola Sturgeon. How to end the war between Scotland and Westminster, Collaboration is crucial to innovative cancer treatment, Scotland wont change until its government does, Nicola Sturgeons encore and Humza Yousafs new(-ish) plan for independence, Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance, HR, Training and Organisational Development, Information and Communications Technology, Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives, Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities, Science and Technical Research and Development. Video, 00:01:59Who is Scotland's new first minister, Humza Yousaf? My understanding is that legislation - of any sort - would only be considered if the Supreme Court rules in the Scottish government's favour. Ms Truss has said there will be an announcement on an immediate package of support within a week. Retrieved 13 June 2021. Pursuing this appeal to disillusioned SNP voters should be in both the Labour and the Tory interest just now. The Scottish government had at one point planned to schedule a second referendum next October, following the unsuccessful vote in 2014. When it came to independence, Ms. Sturgeon was rarely at a loss for words. 2023 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. He served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and then as health secretary from 2021 to 2023. Scotland is part of the U.K. but, like Wales and Northern Ireland, has its own semi-autonomous government with broad powers over areas including health care. The reason is simple: that for the past century the Scottish economy has been allowed to lapse by being run from England in Englands interest. Labour needs those 26 seats in Scotland, and desperately so. Ms Truss showed signs during her leadership campaign that she could take a harder line against calls for indyref2, Boris Johnson visited Nicola Sturgeon in her Bute House residence four days after becoming prime minister in 2019, Ms Truss won more support from Scottish Conservatives MSPs than her leadership rival Rishi Sunak, There have been reports that Ms Truss is considering passing laws to make it harder for Scotland to leave the UK, The UK government did not back the Acorn Project plans to build a carbon capture and storage facility at the St Fergus Gas Terminal in Aberdeenshire, The surprising truth about frozen fruit. So dominant is her position that political analysts said there was no obvious successor an acute problem for a party that faces a crossroads on independence, but a weakness that she said was another reason for her to relinquish the stage now. LONDON (AP) Liz Truss, a onetime accountant who has served in Parliament for the past 12 years, became Britain's prime minister on Tuesday after Queen Elizabeth II formally asked her to form a government. In recent weeks, Ms. Sturgeon had also become embroiled in a dispute over the Scottish governments transgender policy. The first minister of Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic: promh mhinistear na h-Alba [priv vintr n halap]) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. These bodies are still in their infancy, but it was pointed out that Oliver Dowden, now the Deputy Prime Minister, had set up a UK resilience joint committee and that while the Scottish government attended its first meeting, it had been wholly absent from the second in May 2022 and the third in February 2023. Queen to appoint new prime minister at Balmoral - BBC News But that goal has remained elusive and appears no closer than it was nearly a decade ago, when voters rejected a proposal for independence. The downside risks are obvious, said John Curtice, a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and one of Britains leading experts on polling. The Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, of the Houses of Parliament, is seen in London, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. Video, 00:00:47, Mother's grief after son shot by police in France, Fires engulf Parisian streets on second night of riots. Ash Regan, who quit the government because of her opposition to proposed changes to gender recognition, was third with 5,599 votes. Humza Yousaf confirmed as Scotland's new first minister China's new law tightens Xi's powers against the West, Biden's $430bn student loan plan axed by top court. Read about our approach to external linking. It goes without saying that independence supporters regard this tough talk as anti-democratic and disrespectful. Questions in the Commons to the prime ministers Office on. Processes will not work if they dont have good faith and the right attitudes behind them., Jeremy Hunt, now Chancellor, had told the inquiry that when he was Westminster health secretary he found party politics got in way of collaborating with his devolved counterparts. So any London-based MPs would need to find a seat in Scotland and win it first before making a move to be party leader, and that rules out, for now, the new SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn-- who has performed strongly at Prime Minister's Questions since being elected. Video, 00:00:14Nicola Sturgeon resigns as FM, We will be the generation that delivers independence. Video, 00:01:26, We will be the generation that delivers independence, The SNP members choosing Scotlands next first minister. Video, 00:00:28, Clashes intensify on third night of French riots, Virgin space plane takes off with first customers. A skilled veteran of the United Kingdoms system of power sharing and a sure-handed leader during the coronavirus pandemic, she outlasted four British prime ministers, while bedeviling each of them with her unyielding push for Scottish independence. Inevitably that will be influenced by the wider political context at the time, and perhaps Brexit had an impact in setting the overall tone for some of these intergovernmental relationships.. JavaScript seems to be disabled. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 19 April. Questions to deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, standing in. Ms. Sturgeon said she would remain as first minister until the Scottish National Party, which controls Parliament, chooses a successor, most likely at a party conference next month. And there was this striking line yesterday from an analyst that I know who said, you know, when King Charles holds his coronation in May, he's going to be inviting a British prime minister,. This matters because the devolved government initially pursued a disastrous policy of moving elderly hospital patients into care homes more than a third of the 12,600 deaths with Covid recorded on the certificate in Scotland in 2020 and 2021 related to care homes. Her resignation removes one of the most formidable figures from British politics. 2023 BBC. Support for leaving the union has ebbed and flowed over the years, but the British government remains implacably opposed to another referendum. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's former first minister and once one of Britain's most prominent politicians, was arrested on Sunday by police officers investigating the finances of the Scottish. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 15 March. World Feb 15, 2023 1:33 PM EDT LONDON (AP) Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said Wednesday that she plans to step down after more than eight years in office, amid criticism of her drive to. 45 of the past 57 prime ministers were born in England, including the incumbent Rishi Sunak. Thank you. He would be the first person in the position with an immigrant background -- his family comes from Pakistan -- and is already the first ethnic minority and Muslim cabinet secretary. Up Next. Rwanda asylum a risk to UK foreign policy, says ex-minister Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. Ms. Sturgeon later announced that Ms. Bryson had been moved to a mens prison. That the party will not be able to find someone with the communications skills of Sturgeon, leaving the nationalists divided and without a plan. Nearly 1,000 arrested on fourth night of riots in France, 'This was a kid': Paris suburb rocked by killing and riots. Liz Truss LIZ Truss being installed a the next Prime Minister is "terrible news for Scotland", her political opponents have warned. Humza Yousaf elected by MSPs as Scotland's new first minister - Sky News Sturgeons announcement caught political observers by surprise amid her staunch support for both independence and legislation that would make it easier for people in Scotlandto legally change genders. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 1 March. Read about our approach to external linking. So why has she decided, now, to step down? Sturgeon said that her devolved administration did its best, but that the exercises and planning had focused on tackling a flu pandemic of one sort or another, rather than coronavirus. Nicola Sturgeon | Biography, Facts, & Scottish Independence Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. Humza Yousaf | Ethnicity, Parents, First Wife, & Second Wife UK environment minister Zac Goldsmith quits, rebukes PM The former prime minister Gordon Brown came up with a grand plan last December for a new double devolution, welcomed by Starmer. Their wish list includes greater priority being given to the Acorn carbon capture and storage project, which is central to Scotland delivering its climate targets. It leaks talent to England. Please check your inbox to confirm. And, more important, is me carrying on right for my country, my party, and for the independence cause I have devoted my life to?. Prime Minister uses erasable ink on official documents, it emerges "The people of Scotland need independence now more than ever before, and we will be the generation that delivers it," he said in Edinburgh after the result. Scotland's three-centuries-long union with England. Nicola Sturgeon Resigns as Scotland's First Minister, Citing Toll of Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. I wish her all the best for her next steps. Mr. Sunak and Ms. Sturgeon have a cordial relationship, an improvement over the scarcely concealed hostility between her and one of Mr. Sunaks predecessors, Boris Johnson. The party is set to hold a conference on the strategy next month, with some members saying it wont work and others criticizing Sturgeon for waiting too long to press ahead with independence. A clear majority for the Scottish National Party, she said, would effectively be a vote for independence. Coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 28 June. Coverage of questions to prime minister Rishi Sunak on. Humza Yousaf has been officially elected as Scotland's new first minister after he was backed by a majority of MSPs. She is scheduled to appear before the Covid inquiry for a second time, when it gets round to looking at how Britains different branches of government responded during the crisis itself. Joanna Cherry, an SNP member of Parliament, said the resignation provided an opportunity for the party. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 22 March. Sturgeon had vowed totake the British government to court, arguing that Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks administration had made a profound mistake by vetoing the legislation. That can happen and has happened, Sturgeon admitted, adding that when she had been Scottish health minister she had worked well with Alan Johnson and Andy Burnham, Labour health secretaries. A photograph released by 10 Downing Street showing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland during a meeting in Inverness, Scotland, last month. Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh after announcing on Wednesday that she would stand down as first minister of Scotland. Copy/paste the article video embed link below: Composite image of Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Scottish saltire flag in the background, FILE: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, 2017, FILE: Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, with lawmaker Angus Robertson, 2017. This was the Sturgeon Scotland grew so used to confident, eloquent and keen to land a blow on the Tories. What they offer to get them could be a gamechanger. At the Perth leadership hustings she went further, making clear that she would "never, ever let our family (of nations) be split up". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Michael Russell, the president of the SNP, said a week ago the party was in a "tremendous mess". Questions to deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, standing in for PM Rishi Sunak. While Robertson's political opponents within the SNP have been critical of some of his economic ideas, they will grudgingly admit he'd be a thoroughly safe pick for Scotland's top job. "If you think she was first minister through some of the most tumultuous periods in British politics full stop. There are several reasons why Scotland's longest-serving First Minister is stepping down, and more than a few likely contenders for her job. Video, 00:01:06Virgin space plane takes off with first customers, Iconic Tiffany and Co store catches fire in NYC. It is not even that there is a huge pile of other problems for her to sort from post-Brexit trading arrangements and restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland, to the war in Ukraine. Newly appointed prime ministers, in recent years, have made a beeline for Bute House in Edinburgh - the official residence of Scotland's first minister. That raised concerns that Sturgeons position on transgender rights could undermine support for independence, the SNPs overarching goal. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 3 May. Audience ratings certified by ACPM/OJD. Britains Parliament rejected legislation from Scotlands Parliament, the British government swiftly overruled the Scottish Parliament. Video, 00:01:59, Up Next. When Scotland's previous first minister stepped down after the failed 2014 independence bid, Nicola Sturgeon was the obvious successor. Yousaf also said during the campaign an independent Scotland should look at ditching the British monarchy. The beneficiary could well be Labour, surging from one MP to 26. A weekly newsletter helping you understand the global economic slowdown. Coverage of questions to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, on Wednesday 25 January. However, Yousaf has weathered sustained criticism about his handling of the National Health Service in Scotland and opponents would have an endless stream of negative stories to hit him with, so he is likely to be too much of a liability to become first minister at this point. Coverage of questions to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on. While Ms Truss started the leadership contest without a single high profile backer in the Scottish Tories, she ended the campaign with more Holyrood supporters than Rishi Sunak. Since the Scottish National party leadership imploded this month, its once rock-solid support has collapsed. It may be that Nicola Sturgeon, with other devolved leaders, is invited to Downing Street to discuss shared economic challenges. Of them, eighteen were born in Central London, most recently David Cameron (20102016). Coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Boris Johnson on Wednesday 6 July. Who is Scotland's new first minister, Humza Yousaf? Tony Blair | Biography, Facts, & Prime Minister | Britannica LONDON Nicola Sturgeon, a fiery campaigner for Scotlands independence who led its government for more than eight years, resigned on Wednesday, declaring that she was exhausted and had become too polarizing a figure to lead the countrys hurly-burly politics as it weighs another bid to break from Britain. But the law was less popular with the Scottish public than it was in Parliament. 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. Britain's vote to leave the EU two years later when a majority of Scots wanted to stay, and Scotland's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, brought new support for independence. But as the party gathers at next months conference to plot the next phase of the campaign, her absence could greatly affect their tactics and strategy. But she said that in the current hothouse political environment, issues that are controversial end up almost irrationally so..