Humza Yousaf succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader

[Emrys]

3. It's long been an issue with Yousaf's ethnicity, let alone his religion.

Some of the crap on Twitter etc. has been - and still is to this very minute - disgraceful. He starts out with very low expectations from the more rabid unionists, rightwingers and general hobbyist racists, and I suspect it won't be the first time that this sort of arrogance and prejudice rebound on them. Having said that, much of the venom and patronizing shite about Sturgeon has been similarly disgraceful for many years, so it's par for the course for any prominent SNP politician, let alone a leader.

Yousaf's a somewhat "secular" Muslim - he embraces the faith and observes its festivals etc., but has backed a number of progressive policies that are anathema to more conservative Muslims. In this, he contrasts with Forbes, as she made no bones about her somewhat regressive views on marriage, abortion and gender etc., though claimed that somehow this would not affect her decision-making and leadership.

I felt her campaign was somewhat naive - not what I was looking for in a party leader! Maybe she thought that addressing her faith head-on in early interviews and hustings might mean she'd be able to move beyond it and talk about other issues, but the net effect was that it dogged her throughout and excited a lot of social media opposition from quite a large number - many of whom wouldn't have been able to vote for her in an election anyway, and wouldn't have been subject to her government's policies! The fact that her share of the vote was creditable in the end says more about her qualities other than her somewhat old-fashioned views on certain issues and her being courted by some decidedly conservative religious groups.