Humza Yousaf, a left-separatist who has pioneered anti-free speech legislation and lobbied for fewer white people in high office, will be sworn in as the leader of Scotland on Wednesday.
Yousaf has succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which leads Scotland’s devolved government — roughly equivalent to a U.S. State government — in coalition with the even further left Scottish Greens.
He saw off Christian rival Kate Forbes, who was pressured over her private opposition to same-sex marriage during an internal leadership campaign, falling short in the first round by scraping over the halfway mark with 52.1 per cent of the vote after the votes of an eliminated third candidate were redistributed to him under a complex Single Transferable Vote system.
The controversial politician is perhaps best known for championing anti-free speech laws which criminalise “stirring up” so-called “hatred” even in a person’s private home, declaring: “Are we comfortable giving a defence to somebody whose behaviour is threatening or abusive, which is intentionally stirring up hatred against, for example, Muslims? Are we saying that that is justified because that is in the home?”
Yousaf is also somewhat notorious for a viral rant in the Scottish Parliament against the number of white people in high office in Scotland — which is 91.8 per cent White Scottish/British, plus another 4.2 per cent Polish, Irish, Gypsy/Traveller, or ‘White: Other’ in the last census — and asserted that “Scotland has a problem of structural racism.”
Yousaf may be off to a difficult start as leader, as he has already committed to attempting to revive controversial laws on gender self-identification which many believe precipitated the fall of his predecessor.
The British central government, led by the notionally right-wing Conservative (Tory) Party, made a rare use of its reserve powers to veto the Scottish legislation, arguing it would impact the United Kingdom at large and undermine women’s safety.
Yousaf has already confirmed he will challenge this in the courts — possibly to appease the Scottish Greens, who have threatened to collapse the coalition government if the SNP do not continue to pursue a woke gender agenda.
Compared to Forbes, Yousaf curiously emerged as the candidate of choice for vocal transgender activists within the party and wider separatist movement, despite having allegedly skipped a vote on legalising same-sex marriage due, allegedly, to pressure from a Glasgow mosque.
The first Muslim national leader in Britain, Yousaf has received warm congratulations from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the first Hindu national leader in Britain, saying he looks forward to working with the leftist on “issues that matter to people” once he settles into office.
His ascension has been less well-received by small-‘c’ conservatives such as Nigel Farage, who remarked of Yousaf’s election: “The SNP have decided to continue with failure.”
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