smallCortland has A new first minister, Health Minister Humza Yousaf, 37, will succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP).single nucleotide polymorphism) and decentralized government. In a (since sour) partnership with her predecessor Alex Salmond, Ms Sturgeon dominated her party and Scotland for the better part of two decades. At times, the adult independent career she’s dedicated herself to seems almost unstoppable. Mr Yousaf will try to emulate her single nucleotide polymorphismor regain that sense of momentum.
Mr Yousaf enjoyed Ms Sturgeon’s unabashed support, and single nucleotide polymorphism Known for cohesion and unity. Given all this, he has a surprisingly slim vote share among party members. 2019 single nucleotide polymorphismIts membership counts at 125,000, its ranks swelled by the 2014 independence referendum and Scottish anger over Brexit turmoil. That number has shrunk to 72,186 by 2023, of whom just over 50,000 voted; after two rounds of voting, Mr Yusuf received a total of 52% of the vote.
In any case, it’s a narrow victory. It is all the more modest given the shortcomings of Mr Yousaf’s competitors. Treasurer Kate Forbes, an evangelical Christian who opposes same-sex marriage and gender self-identification, sees herself as more socially progressive than England. Ash Regan, the former community safety secretary, advocated independence with an almost eccentric fundamentalism.
In the end, Ms Sturgeon’s blessing was mixed.As ‘continuity’ candidate, Mr Yusuf becomes lightning rod for government discontent single nucleotide polymorphismDomestic record after 16 years in power. In 2011, at the age of 26, he became a member of the Scottish Devolved Parliament and rose rapidly. But his tenure as transport secretary coincided with criticism of the struggling rail network; and as health minister he grappled with backlogs in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. Critics unkindly dubbed him Humza Useless. The YouGov poll found that both the wider Scottish public and voters who supported independence in the 2014 referendum thought all three candidates were worse than Ms Sturgeon. Mr Yusuf fared the worst.
His priority is to reunite the party after a bitterly contested campaign. Mr Yusuf said Ms Forbes and Ms Reagan would serve in his cabinet. But campaigns leave scars. Ms Forbes warned that “more of the same” would be “accepting mediocrity”.Speaking to Mr Yusuf during a debate, she adopted the single nucleotide polymorphismEnemy: “You’re transport minister, trains are never on time, when you were justice minister the police were stretched to the brink, now as health minister we have record waiting times.” News of the decline recently led to the resignation of the party’s chief executive and Ms Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell. The party’s chairman, Michael Russell, declared it all “a mess”.
The British government hopes that Ms Sturgeon’s departure will restart relations between the two countries after years of constitutional confrontation. During the election campaign, Mr Yusuf conceded that a sustained majority, a prerequisite for Scottish independence, did not exist. In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged Scots’ priorities were health care and the impact of inflation. Mr Yusuf said those “who are not yet as passionate about independence as I am” would be won over by a competent government.
However, Mr Yusuf did not let go of the discussion of separation in his victory speech. “United in our common goal of independence,” he said. “I make a solemn promise to you that I will activate our grassroots, citizen-led movement to ensure that our independence movement is in fifth gear,” he said.
united as single nucleotide polymorphism, in other words, could still come at the cost of stoking the constitutional divide that split Scotland in two. Here Mr Yousaf runs into the same hurdle that was the immediate cause of Ms Sturgeon’s downfall: the absence of a legally required option to achieve independence without permission from the UK government. Even in Ms Sturgeon’s heyday, Westminster could have easily turned down such a request. It would be easier to say no to Mr Yousaf, with his spotty record at home and convincing leadership victories. ■
