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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
John Crace

Humza Yousaf forgot the rule: leaders who want to look tough look stupid

Yousaf's distorted reflection in a golden-framed mirror at Bute House, with a Scotland flag and a portrait behind him
Yousaf had no option but to front it out. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/AFP/Getty Images

Be careful what you wish for. It’s hard not to feel a scintilla of sympathy for Humza Yousaf. On a human level, if not a political one. For well over a decade the SNP had ruled more or less unchallenged in Scotland. Free to do whatever it liked, though not, ironically, the one thing on which its existence was predicated: making Scotland independent.

The UK parliament was in no hurry to grant a second referendum, much to the SNP’s displeasure. The first had been labelled a once-in-a-generation event. The SNP saw it differently. Generations pass more quickly in Scotland apparently.

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