Humza Yousaf to quit frontline politics

17 December 2024, 09:31 | Updated: 17 December 2024, 10:35

Former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf is to stand down as an MSP at the 2026 Holyrood election.

Yousaf, who was the first Muslim leader of a Western country, has said that he is quitting frontline politics altogether.

His anouncement comes just seven months after he resigned as First Minister, throwing his party into its second leadership election in 12 months.

Yousaf took over as leader of the SNP and as First Minister after Nicola Sturgeon stood down. His own time in the role ended after he collapsed the coalition deal the SNP had with the Scottish Greens, who then said they would not support him in a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament.

In a letter to his successor John Swiney, he said the next Holyrood election would be the "right time" to move on from parliament. He has served the consitituency of Glasgow Pollock since 2011 and by 2026 will have been an MSP for 15 years.

He said standing down would "provide an opportunity for the next generation of MSPs to step forward, and to explore where I can best make a contribution in the future, in helping to tackle some of the most pressing challenges our world faces."

He added: "I hope by becoming the first First Minister of colour, and first Muslim leader of a western democratic nation, I have sent a clear message to every young person, of any background, who aspires to get involved in public service that you do belong and are just as deserving of opportunity as anyone else."

On X, John Swinney said he was "sorry to see Humza Yousaf stepping down from the Scottish Parliament". He added: "He has been a pioneer in Scottish politics. I value all he has contributed to the Scottish Government and the SNP, and look forward to his continued involvement. I wish Humza, Nadia and their family much peace together."

Mr Youasf made his announcement public in an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, in which he said he was stepping back "from frontline politics altogether".

But when asked what was next, he said: "I've got a lot to contribute and hope to be able to use my experience and make that contribution on the global stage.

"I would love to contribute to, particularly conflict resolution across the world and peacemaking, because there's far too much conflict in our world, and it seems to only be getting worse, and I'm also very passionate about tackling the far right and the rise of populism in the UK, Europe and the West.

"So I've got a bit of time before the next Scottish elections, 2026 but it certainly won't stop me from speaking out and the issues that I'm very passionate about, both at home and abroad."

Despite submitting his name to be vetted as a candidate by the SNP just last month, at the time party sources said they did not think he would ultimately run for selection.

He has also recently set up a private company to deal with income from "conflict resolution speeches."

In the wide-ranging interview with Hasan, Mr Yousaf stood by his decision to end the co-operation deal with the Scottish Greens which had given a stable pro-independence majoority in Holyrood, blaming the Scottish Greens' refusal to accept the Hilary Cass report into transgender healthcare for young people.

"The Greens probably would have rejected the Bute House Agreement. Their membership was probably going to do that," he said. "But things became really difficult my party, too, to be frank, after a pretty challenging interview from the Green co leader on an issue of trans healthcare. There were people in my own party who were very supportive of the Bute House Agreement now demanding that it was terminated, and look me sacrificing my leadership and ending that agreement, to me, was still the right thing to have done.

"My successor is no longer encumbered with that deal. He can make decisions and policy that he wants to take forward in our country's interest without having to negotiate and compromise with the Greens."

He also said he took an "element of responsibility" for the SNP's poor General Election result, where the party was reduced to just nine MPs, but pointed to a recent Sunday Times poll which had put the SNP back in front of Labour in Scotland again.

Asked if he had failed on the delivering independence, he said it was "probably the biggest regret I have in my political career is not convincing people in Scotland enough to vote for independence in 2014 and not winning that referendum."

He added: "Because if we had won that referendum, we probably wouldn't have been dragged out of Europe against our will. We would not have had things like the disastrous implications of Liz Truss's budget. We would not be tied to UK Foreign Policy, which I think has been disastrous, in reference to Gaza, as well as other issues as well.

"So it's one of the biggest regrets, probably the biggest regret I have in my political career, that I couldn't convince, we couldn't convince the Scottish people to vote for independence, and twe haven't created the conditions for a second referendum yet.

"There's no quick fire shortcut to getting independence, I'm afraid, no wildcat referendum, no UDI, only a legal route, but what you've got is an impasse between the Scottish Government and UK Government. And one of the things I've called for is look, how do we respect the democratic mandate of Scotland? And I think there should be some outreach to maybe even international mediators. How do you mediate between the UK Government and Scottish Government to break through that impasse? Because if this is a voluntary union, how on earth does Scotland leave?"