Humza Yousaf should perhaps be forgiven for lacking a clear head after what must have been a tumultuous weekend for him. Even so, his resignation speech is remarkable for its muddled and contradictory analysis of the state of diversity in the country he no longer leads.
He points out that as a young boy growing up in Scotland it was inconceivable that he might one day lead it. After all, he says:
“People who looked like me were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading Governments when I was younger.”
One could explain this as a function of systemic racism. Or one could point out that when he was a young boy of say, six, Scotland was 99% white. That is not hyperbole – it is derived from the 1991 census data.
He reels off the names of the respective heads of the UK, Wales and (up to today) Scotland. After none of these can he spit out the word “white”, something he did in a previous speech in June 2020 in which he railed against the racial injustice and lack of diversity in politics. Surely, the fact that he, Rishi Sunak and Vaughan Gething are all non-white shows how far the UK has come in the last four yours. Is this not cause for celebration? Well, kind of:
“So for those who decry that multiculturalism has failed across the UK, I would suggest the evidence is quite to the contrary, and that is something we should all celebrate.”
So Yousaf is presenting this as one in the eye for all – one expects on the “far right” - that have failed to embrace multiculturalism. Presumably, systemic racism remains just as much as a blight on the country as ever.
In other points in his speech he laments the scourge of hatred in his country in spite of he himself being the single largest source of police complaints under the new hate speech legislation. He mentions independence but only after he speaks about Gaza. And he appeals for collaboration from political opponents after so spectacularly jettisoning his coalition partners.
Yousaf has brought to the role of Scotland’s First Minister a toxic combination of divisiveness and incompetence. He will not be missed.