London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Dec 13, 2025

Humza Yousaf: Can new SNP leader represent South Asian Scots?

Humza Yousaf: Can new SNP leader represent South Asian Scots?

Humza Yousaf has made history as the first Muslim to lead a country in western Europe.

As the new leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he's taken over from Nicola Sturgeon as the country's first minister.

It makes him the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.

BBC Newsbeat went to one of Scotland's most diverse areas to see what people there think about the new leader.

From the halal bakery to the Asian jewellers and colourful clothes shops, the Pollokshields area of Glasgow is full of South Asian influences.

Humza says he's keen to support communities like this one, which is in his constituency and also faces problems with deprivation and poverty.

So do people living in the area think having a leader from a South Asian background will help them?

Ismail says their new leader is more relatable than Nicola Sturgeon


Ismail Ahmed, who we spoke to on Albert Drive - billed as one of the most diverse streets in Scotland - thinks so.

"As a South Asian myself I think it's a pretty good thing our community is being represented," the 20-year-old says.

"I feel like Pakistanis, or even just South Asians in general, don't really have a big representation.

"And now that the first minister, the person that's controlling the country, is a South Asian, it just shows that there'll be more representation."

Humza was widely seen as being the preferred candidate of the SNP establishment - including Nicola Sturgeon herself.

"I'm Pakistani South Asian. So I feel like he's more relatable than Nicola Sturgeon was," Ismail tells Newsbeat.

"I feel like she was doing a pretty good job. So if he's able to continue and maintain what she was doing, I think that's good enough."

Nadia hopes Humza will help to give the diverse community of Pollokshields a voice


Nadia Anwar owns a clothes shop on the street and thinks Humza being the new leader could be massive for giving the community the confidence to speak up.

"There's a lot of things that need to get done. I feel the Asian community will be more forward speaking to somebody that is of ethnic minority, because sometimes our voice doesn't really get heard," she says.

"There's some people that are from Pakistan, from India, from Bangladesh, and they don't have anybody to actually call up to and say 'look this is my problem'.

"Because he's from that same kind of cultural background I feel as though he'll be able to understand more.

"He might not necessarily be able to help them, but then it's a good way of the Asian community being involved in politics.

"Because that's another thing as well, there's not a lot of ethnic minority people within the political environment. And I feel that that will be a good thing."

Talha wants their new leader to help stamp out racism and discrimination


Humza's dad is originally from Pakistan and emigrated to Scotland with his family in the 1960s, while his mother was born into a South Asian family in Kenya.

He's often spoken of the racist abuse he has received and called the police after allegedly receiving threats at the start of the leadership contest.

Talha Moqsud, 31, hopes having a Muslim leader will help the community deal with racism and discrimination.

"I think it's very important for us as Muslims, it gives us a little bit more hope," he says.

"Just hopefully [he] could bring in more opportunities for us. And get rid of any kind of discrimination [and] racism that still kicks about."

Another person on Albert Drive was 18-year-old Zirva.

She agrees with Nadia about their new leader being able to represent their community at the top table of Scottish politics.

"It's definitely good to have representation," she says.

"Obviously in the Western world, it's hard to see somebody that looks like you and has the same kind of beliefs to make up there so it's quite good."

So now he's officially the new leader, can Humza deal with all of the issues in Scotland at the moment?

"I'll be honest with you, I don't know," Nadia says.

"I hope he does well, I'll have every faith in him but we'll see."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
×