Scotland’s Urgent Problems Go Beyond Achieving Independence

Scotland has made history by electing Humza Yousaf, 37, as its First Minister. As the son of Pakistani immigrants, he is the first Muslim and person of Asian descent to hold the position, as well as the country’s youngest leader.

Mr. Yousaf, a career politician who studied politics at university, has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament for 12 years and an insider in Scottish National Party politics, serving as Transport Minister, Justice Secretary, and Health Secretary.

Mr. Yousaf is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, who set the tone of Scottish politics for nearly a decade, particularly in the context of Scotland’s role in the United Kingdom and the complex issue of Brexit.

Mr. Yousaf received 52% of the vote in the SNP leadership election after running a campaign that promised Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and re-accession to the European Union.

Scots will now be watching to see if Mr. Yousaf will live up to his reputation as a “continuity candidate” in the context of these big political questions, as well as whether he can guide their country through the turbulent waters of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the difficult transition to renewable energy, and the long-promised reform of the National Health Service and other vital public services.

However, the nature of the task confronting the current First Minister is different from previous ones. According to recent polling, Scottish support for independence from the United Kingdom has dropped to 39%, lower than the 44.7% who voted for the campaign in the 2014 referendum and significantly lower than the 58% received in 2020 in the aftermath of Scotland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite Mr. Yousaf’s pledge to re-energize the Independence campaign by speaking to ordinary Scottish people across the country, and to be “… the generation that delivers independence for Scotland”, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is already reported to have rejected Mr. Yousaf’s call for independence.

Furthermore, London has made it clear that a referendum cannot result in the dissolution of the United Kingdom unless Westminster approves it, which is unlikely. To make matters worse, the SNP is in a “tremendous mess”, according to its President, Michael Russell, and the scars of infighting have yet to heal.

Mr. Yousaf certainly has his work cut out for him, with seemingly insurmountable barriers to a successful referendum on Scottish independence, the enticing but distant prize of EU reintegration, and the very real dangers of uncontrolled inflation and energy price rises.