Yousaf will almost certainly be confirmed as Scotland’s next Prime Minister in a roll-call vote at Holyrood on Tuesday, the Guardian reports. SNP National Secretary Lorna Finn announced that around 70% of party members had voted in the leadership election. Following the second ballot, Yusaf received 52% of the vote, and her rival Kate Forbes – 48%.
Yousaf, the health minister who previously headed the justice and transport ministries, beat centre-right rival Kate Forbes in a snap election prompted by the shock resignation of Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in February. Yousaf, backed by a majority of MPs and SNP MPs, pledged to continue the centre-left and socially inclusive agenda that defined the Sturgeon era.
During the campaign, however, he distanced himself from his predecessor’s main policy points, including a plan to hold the next general election as a de facto referendum, and promised a more open style of government. In an interview published on Monday ahead of the vote, he promised to hold a Scottish poverty summit as his first action as Prime Minister, where experts could discuss taxes on wealth to fund support for the poorest people.
