Humza Yousaf has claimed he will ask for a Section 30 order “right away” just hours after he took over in the top job.
The Glasgow MSP was today named as successor to Nicola Sturgeon and will be formally elected by MSPs as Scotland’s sixth first minister tomorrow.
He recorded a narrow victory over rival Kate Forbes once second preference votes were taken into account when Ash Regan was eliminated from the contest after the first round of voting.
Speaking to ITV News after his victory, Yousaf said he would seek the powers to hold another referendum “right away”.
Such powers could be granted under Section 30 of the Scotland Act, allowing the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a referendum on independence – widely seen by Yousaf’s wing of the party as the “gold standard” for achieving separation.
But shortly after his comment, the UK Government moved to quash it.
“I think you know our well-established position,” the Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters.
“Reducing inflation, dealing with the cost of living, tackling backlogs, those are the issues the public care about.
“That’s what the Government will be focused on.
“More broadly, you’ve heard the Levelling Up Secretary congratulate Humza Yousaf on his election as leader of the Scottish National Party and, of course, the Prime Minister looks forward to working with him in the future.”
The official said he was not aware of any formal request having been made by Mr Yousaf.
Yousaf described himself as the “luckiest man in the world” after he won the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon on Monday.
In a speech after his victory was announced, he pledged to “dedicate every waking moment” to serving the people of Scotland.
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