2024 has seen a rollercoaster of events in Scottish and UK politics, delaying our screening of the following Vive Ecosse exclusive interview from March 28th 2024, to now. In the interim, Scotland has a new First Minister in John Swinney, and the UK has a new Prime Minister in Keir Starmer.
On 27 March 2023, Humza Yousaf was elected leader of the SNP and subsequently First Minister of Scotland. The previous six-week SNP leadership contest was the first in twenty years, triggered by Nicola Sturgeon’s sudden resignation on 15 February 2023.
Three leadership contenders—Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes, and Ash Regan — shared their ideas and vision for their party and country. They were thrust into the intense spotlight of national and international media, leaving little time to demonstrate who they were and what they stood for to the SNP membership, whose votes determined the winner.
Vive Ecosse exclusively marked ‘One Year On’ by capturing the behind-the-scenes experiences from the unique perspectives of the two women who campaigned to be First Minister of Scotland. Having initially intended to conduct the interviews, we realised that having Kate and Ash interview each presented a more authentic ‘behind the curtain’ experience.
We hope this interview achieves its intention of showing a more human face of politics and reminds us all that how we treat one another always matters. Only the power of common purpose will realise our shared ambition for a better independent Scotland.
Very refreshing conversation between two intelligent and articulate women. It shows that we could do politics better with more talk and less squawk.