Humza Yousaf’s cabinet will do little to unite the SNP

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has risked widening the split within the SNP by effectively ousting Kate Forbes from the cabinet. Having dispensed with his leadership rival, Yousaf has now appointed those who will make up his top team – and insists that his choices demonstrate a party united. But for all his warm words, Yousaf appears to have done little to reach across the SNP divide. Instead, he has opted to reward those who have stayed loyal to him throughout his campaign, such as Shona Robison and his campaign manager Neil Gray. Those who backed Forbes are nowhere to be seen.

Robison, a close ally of Nicola Sturgeon, is Yousaf’s deputy. She will also take on Forbes’s role of finance secretary. This is a promotion for Robison, who first entered Sturgeon’s cabinet in 2014 as equalities, social justice and communities secretary.