What does this all mean for Scottish independence

What has just happened? Humza Yousaf is the new leader Scottish National Party52.1% of final votes among party members went to ‘Republican Party Members’.

The Holyrood Kate Forbes and Ash Regan were beaten to the success of health secretary Nicola SturgeonShe resigned in February from the position.

Yousaf declared: “I feel like I am the luckiest man to be standing here today as the leader for the SNP,” he stated, describing it the “greatest privileges and honours of my entire life.”

Within hours, Yousaf confirmed will ask the UK Parliament for a Section 30 order “right away, which would allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a referendum on independence

Yahoo UK examines what Yousaf’s victory might mean for the SNP’s main policy, Scottish independence.

What has he to say about Scottish independence

Sturgeon suggested that the UK’s next general elections would be a “de facto referendum”. Scottish independence However, Yousaf had previously stated that he was not as “wedded to” the idea as Sturgeon.

But he said that it was possible.

Speak to BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme last month, Yousaf said he wanted to hear from members of the SNP about the route they wanted to follow towards independence.

“Let’s have the discussion, not just at one-off special conferences, as important and important as these are. Let’s take [the] He suggested that we start a dialogue with our members across the country to see what ideas can be generated from the diversity of talent within the membership.

“I think it will be obvious by the point when we have a sustained level of support for independence, at the moment it’s not sustained, it fluctuates from poll to poll, what we’d be looking for is assuring that we have sustained support, majority support for independence,” he added, strongly suggesting the SNP under his leadership would be gauging the will of the Scottish people on the matter before pushing for another vote on the matter.

Yousaf stated that he wants an independent Scotland to be part Europe after he won the election. He called himself a proud Scot and said that the party could deliver independence for Scotland.

Shortly after winning, he said he would follow the actions of Sturgeon and request a Section 30 and legislate for a new referendum – widely seen by his wing of the party as the “gold standard” for achieving separation.

The UK Government quickly responded to it and the PM’s spokesperson said: “I think that you know our well established position.”

Latest polls: Scottish independence

Despite the fact that support for independence seems to be waning, it has grown steadily over the past 45 year. Recent poll results by Techie and YouGov show that the ‘No’ voters currently hold a majority, with 53.8% of the vote and 54.7%, respectively. The yes votes from the polls taken in February show 46.2% (and 45.3% respectively).

Recently, the number of ‘Yes” votes has dropped. After the UK’s referendum to leave the EU in 2016, support for Scottish independence increased. A poll conducted in 2019 showed that more than half of those polled supported independence.

However, support for independence reached its peak during the coronavirus epidemic. In November 2020, polls showed that 56% of respondents said yes to independence.

But support for independence has dropped once more since 2021 due to problems within the SNP as well as weak support for Sturgeon. Future polls will be closely monitored, however, as Theresaf has made a new pledge to fight for independence.

What next?

Yousaf has pledged to maintain the SNP’s power sharing deal with the Green party and will meet with Green leaders Lorna Slater, Patrick Harvie and others – without whom he won’t have a majority at Holyrood. They will likely continue to support the SNP under his leadership as they are the only candidate to have committed to Sturgeon’s agreement with Greens.

To become Scotland’s first Minister, Yousaf must win a Tuesday vote at Holyrood. There are other parties that can nominate their candidate for first minister, but it is likely that the SNP leader will win due to the party’s majority.

The Tuesday end is the deadline for a result. It must be reached by Tuesday night. King Charles Yousaf is sworn-in in Edinburgh on Wednesday.