The SNP leader said that he was unwilling to “trade in my values or principles” to retain power
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Humza Yousaf resigned as Scotland’s First Minister yesterday (29 April), stepping down from being an SNP leader. He gave a heartfelt press conference which he dedicated to his wife and children for supporting his political career.
“I am not willing to trade in my values or principles or do deals with whomever simply for retaining power,” Humza said during his resignation speech. This is believed to be in reference to the looming no-confidence votes Humza was facing after the collapse of the party’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens.
The former First Minister was known for his strong stance on LGBTQIA rights, which included ensuring that trans women would be covered by new misogyny laws in Scotland. In an exclusive interview with PinkNews in 2023, he pledged his commitment to advancing LGBTQIA rights as First Minister.
Humza will remain as First Minister until his replacement has been chosen. Currently, the front-runners for this position are former SNP finance secretary Kate Forbes and Nicole Sturgeon’s previous deputy First Minister John Swinney.
There are some concerns within the LGBTQIA community about the possibility of Kate Forbes becoming Scotland’s First Minister as she has vocally opposed equal marriage, abortion, and trans rights throughout her career. In 2019, she was one of 15 SNP politicians to sign a letter against Scotland’s proposed Gender Recognition Act (GRA) reforms and has expressed her “significant concerns” about self-identification.
John Swinney, on the other hand, has previously debated Kate Forbes on her views and even said that she would not be “appropriate” as First Minister due to comments she made about how she would have voted against same-sex marriage.
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