Hats off to Humza Yousaf. He knows how give a straight answer. At the Edinburgh fringe, he was quizzed by Matthew Stadlen who asked if he took responsibility for the chaos that led to his resignation as Scotland’s first minister.
‘I frankly f***ed up,’ admits Yousaf. Warm applause greeted this confession, and Stadlen compared his honesty with the more equivocal approach of Liz Truss. ‘It upsets a lot of people,’ said Yousaf, ‘that she’s unable to utter a syllable of contrition. She blames the markets, the Bank of England, and the deep state. We need fewer Liz Truss’s.’
Yousaf argued that the far right are complaining about a migrant crisis that they created
Yousaf is still committed to Scottish independence and he predicts that it will happen during his lifetime, although he won’t say when. He argues that ‘around 50 per cent’ of Scots still support the policy and he rejects the idea that Scotland’s economy will suffer. ‘Independence makes you wealthier and fairer,’ he said. ‘No country that ever left Britain has ever wanted to come back.’
Stadlen asked him about wrecking centuries of shared identity and turning English people into ‘foreigners’ in Scotland. ‘What’s wrong with being a foreigner?’ said Yousaf. Stadlen pursued the point and asked him ‘what’s good’ about estranging the English from their Scottish neighbours. Yousaf advised him to remove himself from the discussion. ‘It doesn’t hinge on what you think about independence.’
During the 2014 referendum, it emerged that many Scots cherish their British identity and don’t want to let it go. Yousaf said that their attitude was wrong. ‘We’re not damaging or threatening British identity,’ he insisted.
Yousaf couldn’t explain why he wants open borders internationally while hoping to build a new frontier between Scotland and England. Although he praised multiculturalism, he seemed curiously fixated with the ethnic origins of other politicians. He referred to Rishi Sunak as ‘the Hindu prime minister’ and to Sadiq Khan as ‘the Muslim mayor of London.’ No other European capital would elect a Muslim as mayor, he said. That sounded like a snub to the European Union which he said he greatly admires.
He gave an intriguing account of his appointment as first minister. On the evening of 14th February, 2023, Nicola Sturgeon called him at home and told him she planned to resign. Would he take her job? This bombshell led to two days of agonised discussion between Yousaf and his wife as they talked through the pros and cons of the opportunity. She made her priorities clear. ‘Do not ever forget my expectations of you as a husband and father.’ When he accepted the job, she imposed the ground rules that dominated his timetable. He wasn’t allowed to be absent from home for more than three nights on the trot, and he had to show up every Monday evening to feed and bathe the children.
As a father, he said, he found the recent unrest across Britain profoundly disturbing. He has even considered leaving the UK. ‘I’m aware that this would let the racists win … but I’m first and foremost a husband and father.’ He added that ‘every single Muslim I’ve spoken to is thinking the same thing.’ Stadlen asked what message he had for other Muslim.
‘Allyship is imperative because the far-right are in the minority. The majority believe that diversity is our strength,’ said Yousaf. He called for a bold statement from Number 10. ‘I’ve never heard a prime minister make a speech about the positive benefits of immigration,’ he said. His memory may be faulty on this point but he advised Keir Starmer to state clearly that ‘immigration is good and necessary’.
Yousaf said the riots were caused by ‘decades of institutionalised Islamophobia … and X which is a cesspit of disinformation’. His solution to the crisis is rather vague. He says that ‘desperate’ migrants are crossing the channel because all legal routes have been closed. And he’s appalled that migrants who work in old people’s homes ‘are not allowed to bring their loved-ones over’.
Stadlen suggested that immigration is too high. ‘No,’ said Yousaf. Immigration should be ‘sensible’ and determined by local needs. Every sector of the Scottish economy has vacancies, he said, and these can be filled by migrants or by our own people. We just have to train them.
Stadlen asked what he would say to angry British voters, mired in debt, whose local hotel is full of asylum-seekers. Yousaf replied that their anger was misdirected. ‘Migrants didn’t crash the economy. Migrants didn’t fail to build council houses. And migrants didn’t take us out of the EU.’
All three policies happen to be associated with Conservative governments. This was a very nifty bit of footwork. Yousaf argued that the far right are complaining about a migrant crisis that they created.
On Israel/Palestine, he said that he supports the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. And he deplored the arming of Israel. ‘It’s one of the best armed countries in the world.’ Stadlen dug a little deeper: ‘Should all arms shipments to Israel stop?’ ‘Yes,’ said Yousaf. ‘You don’t make a country safer by killing civilians.’
Stadlen finished by asking if he wants to revive his career as first minister. ‘No,’ came the answer. Yousaf is undecided about standing for Holyrood in 2026. For the future, he imagines himself, ‘tackling the far right on a global level. I’m always happy to advise.’
It’s easy to guess what this means. The United Nations.
Comments