Yousaf speaks to supporters at the SNP office in Largs, Scotland, on Aug. 23.
ack in August, TIME traveled to Edinburgh to meet with Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf—the first Muslim politician ever elected to lead a Western democracy, as well as the first non-white and youngest Scottish leader—for a new cover story, in what was his first major interview with foreign media.
Since the U.K. Supreme Court ruled last year that Scotland does not have the power to hold an independence referendum without the consent of the British government, the path forward for the independence movement appears to have hit a dead end. Westminster is adamant that the 2014 referendum, which saw 55% of Scots vote against independence, was the final word on the matter. The SNP argues that the scale of change in the U.K. since then, most notably its decision to leave the E.U.
“If we can demonstrate that independence has a consistent majority—not 52% one day, 48% the other day,” says Yousaf, “then it’ll be impossible for the U.K. government to continue and continue and continue to deny.” SNP members will get their chance to vote on the party’s independence strategy when they meet for their annual conference later this month in Aberdeen.
“Being attached to this unequal union is what is holding us back,” he says, “and I believe that weaves its way through every single issue that people are grappling with today.”
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