Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, congratulates Humza Yousaf on his election as new SNP leader

MORAY MSP Richard Lochhead has congratulated Humza Yousaf following his election as the new SNP leader.

Mr Yousaf received 26,052 votes (52.1 per cent) to edge out Kate Forbes who got 23,890 votes (47.9 per cent) in the second round of the ballot.

Fellow SNP leadership hopeful Ash Regan was eliminated in the first round.

Mr Lochhead offered his "huge congratulations" to Mr Yousaf following the announcement this afternoon.

"I know that everyone in our party will now come together and give him our full backing," Mr Lochhead said.

“Humza’s election makes history as he becomes Scotland’s first ethnic minority First Minister, succeeding our first female First Minister.

“There’s no doubt these are challenging times ahead, with the cost of living crisis and our recovery from the pandemic, and Humza will have a full in-tray waiting for him, but I know as First Minister he will rise to that challenge.

“The case for independence has never been stronger, as we see households in energy rich Scotland struggle to pay their bills, and we see the impact of Brexit on our economy after being dragged out of Europe against our will.

“Humza now has the opportunity to build on the SNP’s proud record in government and to make the progressive case for independence and I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.”

Moray's MSP initially supported Kate Forbes to become Scotland's next First Minister following Nicola Sturgeon's shock resignation announcement in February.

At the time, he tweeted that he was "delighted" after Ms Forbes first declared her bid.

However, he withdrew his support 12 hours later after Ms Forbes, a member of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland, admitted that she would have voted against same sex marriage in 2014.

Mr Lochhead told The Northern Scot that he knew about her views before backing her but added that he did not expect her faith to influence how she would vote.

“I did welcome her decision to throw her hat in the ring as we need a real contest and she could bring fresh ideas especially in terms of our economic future," Mr Lochhead said.

“But when Kate said she’d vote against same sex marriage, I felt that was incompatible with being First Minister and SNP Leader, given that these posts must reflect our party’s and country’s core values of equality and upholding people’s rights."

Mr Yousaf is set to be confirmed as leader on Tuesday when Holyrood will meet to elect the new First Minister.