Voting has started among separatists to choose Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s successor

The succession of the emblematic independence leader Nicholas Sturgeon sparked the fight for control of the Scottish National Party (SNP), in a two-week vote which began on Monday in which the bases will choose between the continuity of Humza Yousaf and the change of Kate Forbes.

The competition to replace Scotland’s chief minister and leader of the SNP involves more than 100,000 members who must choose, until March 27, between Yousaf, Forbes and the third in line, Ash Regan.

Yousaf, the current regional health minister, is supported by the main figures of the autonomous government. “It’s important to have a leader who reflects Scotland’s progressive values, who stands up for the Scottish Parliament and the legislation it passes,” he told the agency. EFE the regional Minister for the Constitution and Foreign Affairs, Angus Robertson.

The latest to join his candidacy this weekend were the leader of the party in the Central Parliament (Westminster), Stephane Flynnand the Chief Deputy Minister, John SwinneySturgeon’s right arm.

Although he lacks the heavyweight backing of his training, polls name Economy Minister Kate Forbes as favorite who is on maternity leave.

A follower of the Evangelical Free Church of Scotland and opponent of same-sex marriage, she is seen by the general public as a capable person and a new face to lead the SNP (she is 32).

A few days after taking office in 2020, after the expulsion of the former government minister, Derek MacKayfor his inappropriate messages to a minor, saved general budgets.

According to a poll carried out by Ipsos Mori, the Scottish electorate generally prefers her (33%) to her main rival, Yousaf (24%), who nevertheless seems to enjoy a better opinion among the base of the party, generally more progressive.

“We need it (Forbes) because we’re stuck, it’s the honest truth,” he said EFE Douglas Chapmanformer SNP treasurer, who resigned in 2021 over a lack of transparency.

“Only a fresh start and a change at the top can put us back in the right direction,” Chapman said.

On his religious beliefs, he stressed that Forbes “is honest” and felt that “where these might come into conflict (with current law) he will always put Scotland first”.

Within the SNP, a party that calls itself liberal social-democratic, we can distinguish several wings: the most original social-conservative of the 1990s, which joined after the “no” to independence in the 2014 referendum, the progressive young people in search of a socially just Scotland, and another of tough separatists.

According to the co-director of the Center for Constitutional Change at the University of Edinburgh, Nicholas McEwenForbes sees the path to independence “through economic growth and job creation, also to eradicate poverty”, he explained to EFE.

Yousaf, for his part, follows “the line of Nicola Sturgeon, of the centre-left. It is committed to pursuing its policies of social justice and support for minorities,” the expert stressed.

Representatives of the minorities represented in the SNP are clear about their commitment to Yousaf.

“There’s a lot of hope in him and a lot of trepidation about the idea of ​​Forbes,” he said. Erin Luxrepresentative of the LGTBQ+ wing.

“The party must keep the progressivism of the majority of Scots, and that’s Humza (Yousaf),” he said. ECE Graham Campbellchairman of the party’s ethnic minorities.

The path to eventual independence is also key in these primaries, especially after the Supreme Court closed the way to the possibility of a unilateral referendum not agreed with London.

Forbes calls the current strategy “very controlled and management-oriented” and advocates “open discussion” that “builds bridges rather than alienating people,” Chapman explained.

Still, for Robertson, Yousaf is the right person to go “beyond SNP supporters and traditional separatists”, to create a social majority for independence.

(With information from EFE)

Continue reading: