Humza Yousaf: Who is Scotland's under-threat first minister?

Humza Yousaf
Humza Yousaf became Scotland's first minister in March 2023 [PA Media]
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Just over a year ago, Humza Yousaf became Scotland’s sixth first minister.

He was seen as the continuity candidate when he was elected to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader.

But after ending the Bute House Agreement which his predecessor had struck with the Scottish Greens, he is now fighting to save his political future.

When he was confirmed as Scotland's first minister in March 2023, Mr Yousaf became the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.

His father is originally from Pakistan and emigrated to Scotland with his family in the 1960s, while his mother was born into a South Asian family in Kenya. Mr Yousaf has often spoken of the racist abuse he has received.

He was educated at the Hutchesons' Grammar private school in Glasgow, then studied politics at Glasgow University.

Mr Yousaf was elected as a list MSP for the Glasgow region in 2011, then was promoted to minister for Europe and international development a year later.

He became transport minister in 2016 after winning Glasgow Pollok from Labour, which made him the first ethnic minority candidate to win a constituency seat in the Scottish Parliament.

He faced criticism for the performance of ScotRail after Abellio took over the contract to run the rail franchise, which ultimately led to it being nationalised.

Humza Yousaf
Mr Yousaf was appointed transport secretary in 2016 [Getty Images]

Mr Yousaf was promoted again in 2018 when Ms Sturgeon named him as the new justice secretary as part of a reshuffle of her cabinet team.

But his flagship hate crime bill was mired in controversy over fears that the new offence of "stirring up hatred" could have a major impact on freedom of speech.

Mr Yousaf was also criticised for tweeting about his "disgust" over a video supposedly showing Rangers players using sectarian language that quickly turned out to be fake.

And he dismissed concerns about the state of Scotland's police buildings as "hyperbole" just hours before the ceiling collapsed at Broughty Ferry police station near Dundee. Mr Yousaf had recently moved to the town.

Within three weeks of becoming health secretary in May 2021, Mr Yousaf apologised for any "undue alarm" he had caused by wrongly claiming that 10 children had been hospitalised "because of Covid".

He also famously fell off a knee scooter that he was using in the Scottish Parliament while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon that he had suffered while playing badminton.

When video of his tumble was tweeted by BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell, Mr Yousaf replied: "If anyone else had fallen over while on crutches, a knee scooter, or in a wheelchair would your first instinct be to film it & tweet out?"

Mr Yousaf's supporters pointed to achievements such as delivering the Queensferry Crossing on time and under budget while he had responsibility for transport, and falling crime figures while he was justice secretary.

Humza Yousaf
Mr Yousaf won the SNP leadership contest in 2023 [EPA]

When Nicola Sturgeon announced in February 2023 that she was standing down as first minister, Mr Yousaf was seen as the candidate who would seek to continue the work of the outgoing first minister.

He was the only contender to say he would challenge the UK government's block on Ms Sturgeon's controversial gender recognition reforms in the courts, arguing that independence would only be won if the party continued to push "progressive values".

He was also the only candidate to say he would continue the partnership agreement with the Greens.

His margin of victory – he defeated Kate Forbes by 52% to 48% in the final round of voting – was narrower than some had predicted.

Just days after he was sworn in, police searched the home of Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell, as well as the SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh, as part of their ongoing Operation Branchform investigation into the party's funding and finances.

Both were later arrested and released without charge pending further investigations.

Last week, Mr Murrell was re-arrested and charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the SNP.

gender law protests
The gender recognition reforms proved controversial [PA Media]

Mr Yousaf’s first year as first minister has seen the postponement of a controversial deposit return scheme, which had been led by the Greens.

Proposals for highly protected marine areas scheme were also ditched.

The Scottish government did go to the Supreme Court to challenge the UK government's block on the gender recognition reforms – but lost the case, leading to the legislation being shelved.

Last October Labour comfortably won the Rutherglen by-election - which was sparked by former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier being recalled after she was convicted of breaching Covid rules - with a 20% swing from the SNP.

Mr Yousaf took a significant early stand on the conflict in Gaza by calling for an immediate ceasefire.

His in-laws were trapped in Gaza for four weeks after the Israeli invasion which followed the deadly attacks by Hamas.

Mr Yousaf described them as being the most difficult weeks of his life.

He faced fresh controversy at the start of this month when the hate crime laws which he had instigated as justice secretary came into effect.

Critics claimed the legislation could harm free speech, although the government insisted that it provided protection without stifling individual expression.

Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater
The Scottish Greens were angered by the ending of the power-sharing agreement [PA Media]

However, it was the decision to abandon a major part of Nicola Sturgeon's legacy – the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens – which has now put Mr Yousaf’s political future in doubt.

Last week the government dropped a 2030 climate target, and the Scottish NHS decided to pause the prescription of new puberty blockers to young trans people.

This angered many within the Scottish Greens, whose members were to be given a vote on whether to continue the partnership with the SNP.

At the weekend Mr Yousaf stressed that he “really valued” having the Greens in government – then on Thursday he told the party’s co-leaders that he was ending the power-sharing agreement.

The Greens say they will join with other opposition parties in backing a vote of no confidence in Mr Yousaf, which could take place next week.

He says he will not resign and that he is confident about winning the vote.

After a challenging first year in power, the coming days will determine whether he can weather the storm or if Scotland will be looking for its seventh first minister.