Humza Yousaf

Humza Yousaf has been elected to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the SNP and Scotland’s next First Minister. He was widely regarded as the preferred candidate of the SNP establishment - including Ms Sturgeon herself. The Health Secretary was endorsed by far more MSPs and MPs than his two rivals, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney predicting that Mr Yousaf would "complete our journey to independence". His supporters say he is a polished communicator who is best placed to unite the party and maintain the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens after what has been a deeply fractious leadership contest.