The SNP’s leading Republican candidate, Humza Yousaf, has declared that Scotland could shed the monarchy within five years of independence and replace King Charles with an elected head of state.
Voting opened on Monday in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister, with ballot papers sent out to tens of thousands of SNP members to choose between rivals Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.
But in his last interview before the final ballot closure push on March 27, Yousaf has detailed how he thinks regional assemblies should start discussing issues of “what kind of Scotland we want to see”.
For Mr Yousaf, the new type of Scotland does not include the monarchy – and he told him The National that he believes that stepping away from royalty and becoming an elected head of state should happen within five years of independence.
He said: ‘Let’s also talk about things like the monarchy. I don’t know why we should be coy about it, I don’t think we should be. I have been very clear, I am a Republican. That has never been anything I have hidden.
The SNP’s leading Republican candidate, Humza Yousaf (pictured Monday), has declared that Scotland could shed the monarchy within five years of independence and replace King Charles with an elected head of state.
For Yousaf, the new type of Scotland does not include a monarchy, and he told The National that he believes that moving away from royalty and becoming an elected head of state should happen within five years of independence (King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are pictured on Commonwealth Day Monday)
The politician added that he would be “interested” in making the transition to a new Scottish currency “as soon as possible”.
He added: “But let us absolutely consider within the first five years whether or not we should move from having a monarchy to having an elected head of state.”
Yousaf went on to say that he considers himself a “citizen, not a subject”, adding that he believes it is “important” to take the step within the first years of independence.
Yousaf’s suggestions come just three days after Prince Edward was awarded the title of Duke of Edinburgh to mark his 59th birthday, with his wife Sophie becoming Duchess of Edinburgh.
His son James, Viscount Severn, 15, will be known from today as Earl of Wessex, his father’s previous title, while none of the changes will affect his daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor thanks to the old rules of primogeniture.
The third televised showdown between Mr Yousaf, Ms Forbes and Ms Regan, to take place in Edinburgh, will be broadcast on Sky News on Monday night.
The previous two debates have been marked by bitter clashes between the contenders, drawing comparisons to a ‘circular firing squad’.
Mr Yousaf has seen his ministerial record criticized by Ms Forbes, who also suggested he should be sacked from his post as Health Secretary over Scotland’s NHS crisis.
Voting opened on Monday in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon (pictured) as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland, with ballot papers sent out to tens of thousands of SNP members to choose between her rivals, Mr Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.
But Yousaf responded by highlighting the socially conservative views of Forbes, a member of the Evangelical Free Church of Scotland, and suggested that his choice as leader would send the SNP “tottering to the right”.
Meanwhile, Mrs Regan, widely seen as the outsider in the competition, delivered a withering verdict on Mrs Sturgeon’s long period in charge.
She told SNP members the party had “lost its way” and admitted there had been “no progress” on Scottish independence in recent years.
Ms Regan also went on to criticize Ms Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, who is the chief executive of the SNP.
“Sure enough, he is running the pageant to replace his wife,” Ms Regan claimed.
Yousaf has vowed to shift the SNP’s drive for Scottish independence into “fifth gear” if he is elected party leader.
He followed a suggestion from his Scottish government colleague Ben Macpherson, the social security minister, to “downshift” rather than pursue “any reckless and overly disruptive path”.
When asked about Mr Macpherson’s comments, Mr Yousaf said: “I’m of the opposite view, I think we should increase, not reduce activity.”
‘If I were the prime minister, I’d put us in fifth gear, let alone a lower gear.
There are a number of leaflets that I promise to publish around the case for independence as soon as I am Prime Minister.
“But also, from day one, we have to get the Yes movement going.”
Aspiring SNP leader Kate Forbes said she agreed with the ‘brave’ JK Rowling on transgender rights as she and her rivals faced yet another live television questioning.
In what again turned into a moody television debate between her and fellow candidates Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan, Forbes faced close scrutiny for her socially conservative views.
The 32-year-old, a member of the Evangelical Free Church of Scotland, nearly saw her campaign collapse amid a series of car crash interviews last month.
In his last interview before the final push to close the ballot on March 27, Yousaf has detailed how he thinks regional assemblies should start discussing issues of “what kind of Scotland we want to see” (pictured Sunday)
Yousaf went on to say that he considers himself a “citizen, not a subject”, adding that he thinks it is “important” to make the move within the first few years of independence (pictured against SNP candidates Ash Regan and Kate Forbes)
Yousaf’s suggestions come just three days after Prince Edward was bestowed the title of Duke of Edinburgh to mark his 59th birthday, with his wife Sophie becoming Duchess of Edinburgh (Edward and Sophie with Prince Philip at a party in the DofE Prize garden at Buckingham Palace in 2016)
He admitted that he would have voted against gay marriage and called premarital sex “wrong.”
But, in trying to continue her recovery from those early troubles tonight, Ms Forbes insisted that she did not ‘disapprove’ of unmarried couples and married gay couples.
He also called conversion therapy “abhorrent,” though he stopped short of saying he would ban the practice outright.
Both Ms Forbes and Ms Regan described Ms Rowling, the author of Harry Potter and a leading critic of the Scottish government’s gender identity reforms, as “brave” for speaking out on the issue.
Meanwhile, despite another series of bitter exchanges between the three rivals, all agreed they would demand an independence referendum as the price of the SNP’s support for a Labor government in Westminster.