The Scottish Prime Minister position became vacant when Humza Yousaf resigned due to a lack of confidence. He managed to be prime minister for more than a year.
of Scotland the people’s party SNP has chosen its new chairman John Swinneyn. Swinney had no challengers.
Swinney, 60, will also become Scotland’s first minister, as the SNP is by far Scotland’s largest party. The SNP has 63 representatives in the 129-seat parliament, so the party’s votes alone are not enough to secure Swinney’s election.
Swinney is a veteran SNP politician. He already led the party in 2000–2004, when it was in opposition.
Last times, the party’s support has been declining. Long-time chairman of the party and former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has been in the middle of a party funding scandal, and support for Scottish independence has also been on the decline.
The party has been criticized for focusing on the pursuit of Scottish independence instead of taking care of, for example, the reasonable cost of living and health services.
of Scotland the prime minister’s position became vacant when the previous prime minister Humza Yousaf resigned from his position due to a lack of confidence. At the same time, he also gave up the chairmanship of his party. Yousaf managed to be prime minister for more than a year.
Yousaf resigned before the confidence vote, which he probably would have lost. He had angered his government partner, the Greens, because he had abandoned part of his party’s climate goals. The Conservatives, the Labor Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens had already announced that they would not support Yousaf in the vote.
of Scotland the parliament has limited decision-making power in e.g. health, education, transport and environmental matters.
The British government, on the other hand, decides on country-wide issues, such as defense and foreign policy.