Scottish independence now feels as far away as it has ever been

Editorial: There is simply no route available to the SNP now that the Labour leadership has rejected another referendum, and Mr Yousaf has no strategy to boost support for another vote

He certainly deserves to be proud of his achievement

(PA)

The new leader of the Scottish National Party, Humza Yousaf, declared himself “the luckiest man in the world” to lead the party he “loves so dearly”.

He certainly deserves to be proud of his achievement. At 37, he is the youngest first minister to be elected, the first from a minority ethnic background, and he has survived the most acrimonious leadership campaign in the party’s history. Even his political enemies will wish him well personally as he embarks on his new role.

However, while he may be personally fortunate, “lucky” is not the term that leaps to mind when surveying his inheritance and the task ahead. He has, in Nicola Sturgeon, a hard act to follow. She was just as divisive a figure as she conceded she had been when she announced her resignation; but no one could doubt she was a leader, and a combative one with it.