Humza Yousaf will seek power to hold second independence referendum ‘straight away’ | ITV News
New SNP leader Humza Yousaf has said he will ask for a Section 30 order “straight away” just hours after it was announced he would take over the top job from Nicola Sturgeon. Mr Yousaf, who has been Scottish health secretary since 2021, will be formally elected by MSPs as Scotland’s sixth first minister on Tuesday. He recorded a narrow victory over rival Kate Forbes once second preference votes were taken into account when Ash Regan was eliminated from the contest after the first round of voting. Speaking to ITV News after his victory, Mr Yousaf said he would seek the powers to hold another referendum “right away”. The powers that could be granted under Section 30 of the Scotland Act would allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a referendum on independence – widely seen by Mr Yousaf’s wing of the party as the “gold standard” for achieving separation. Shortly after his comments, the UK Government moved to quash it. • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itvnews Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/
