Humza Yousaf

I have the deepest respect and affection for Nicola Sturgeon.

Having those back channels for any government or any political parties where there's disagreement, differences... those backchannels are worth their weight in gold.

When one chapter begins to close, you often spend time reflecting on your achievements, mistakes and even regrets - I have all three.

As the son of immigrants, I could never have imagined the incredible political journey I have been on. I feel blessed.

Come 2026, I will have served 15 years as an MSP. The time will be right for me to move on.

I have a lot to contribute from the things I have learned about what to do and what not to do, and can use that experience to make a good contribution on the global stage.

I always said to myself, when I entered politics, that there were two things worth trying to do. One is never trade my principles or values, the other is when it's time to go, own your mistakes that you make.

You tend to make your mistakes when you think like a politician in a political bubble and you forget the human dimension.

Unfortunately, when I became FM the slew of racism and hatred, including Islamophobia increased exponentially.

How on earth can we have a true democracy when oligarchs like Elon Musk can buy elections? How can we have a democracy when the world's richest man - through his money, wealth, platforms, influence - can overthrow or attempt to overthrow democratically elected heads of government?

The rise of the far-right, which is driven by predominantly anti-Muslim hatred, if we continue to allow this rising tide of the far-right to continue, if we don't confront it, if we don't confront those who support it, influence it and amplify it like Elon Musk, then I think western democracy is under threat of complete collapse.

Not only is Elon Musk Islamophobic, I think he is somebody who clearly has White supremacist, far-right sympathies.

You can't say that you agree with a two-state solution but only choose to recognize one state.

Anyone who suggests racism is the preserve of the working class is wrong.

My starting point is that I've been a minority in this country for my whole life. I have understood that you have to fight for your rights but my rights don't exist in a vacuum or an isolation. They only exist because other people's rights exist too.

I am firmly committed to equality for everybody, because your rights are my rights regardless of who you are.

One of my strengths is reaching across the divide to bring people together.

I'm a Muslim. I'm somebody who's proud of my faith... But what I don't do is, I don't use my faith as a basis of legislation.

I'm a supporter of equal marriage.

As an angry 16-year-old Muslim growing up in the West in the aftermath of 9/11, with all of the Islamophobia that ensued after that, I wanted to change the world, and change attitudes. Politics has given me a platform and a voice to do that.

Although I studied Politics at Glasgow University, I always thought I would do political research or some other work that involved being in the background - where I was always most comfortable.

Scotland is the country I love.

You cut me open, I'm about as Scottish as you come. But the truth of the matter is, I don't know whether the future for me and my wife and my three children is going to be here in Scotland or the U.K., or indeed in Europe and the West, because I have, for some time, really worried about the rise of Islamophobia.

I don't know anyone that suggests Israel doesn't have the right to protect itself from terror.

We will transition from being the oil and gas capital of Europe to unleashing our renewable potential and becoming the net-zero capital of the world. We will show moral leadership and ensure funding for loss and damage is not just pledged but paid and I would urge other nations to join us.

People who looked like me were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading governments when I was younger.

It is important to put myself in others' shoes to truly empathise with them.

If you or a family member have waited for an ambulance too long, waited for treatment for too long, I am sorry.

The top three issues for people are the cost of living crisis and NHS and public services and the economy. And of course, for me, independence is linked to all three.

My concentration has to be on making sure the party delivers. If we deliver, we'll be seen as credible. And if we are seen as credible, people will continue to support us.

I've never paid much attention to those who have written me off.

There is only one party that's by far the largest advocating for the cause of independence - that's the SNP. So if you believe in independence and want to advance the cause of independence, I would urge people to vote for the SNP.

There's just no recovery of the health service without recovery of the social care sector.

Childcare will be absolutely central to my plans in terms of tackling poverty. In fact, I would say childcare is the perfect example of an initiative that is both pro-growth and anti-poverty.

If you grow that economy, you increase the tax base, you increase the revenue that you can spend on anti-poverty measures.

I would hope I have got a track record of unifying people, reaching across the divide, bringing people together.

The fact that I am even in the running, somebody who is the grandson of an immigrant who came in the 1960s to this country is even in the running, in contention for the top job in Scotland, I think speaks volumes.

Look, I think if I have not advanced the cause of independence, if I have not achieved independence as an SNP First Minister, then that yeah, that will be one failure I'm afraid that people will certainly take alongside my name.

My dad, who really had so much foresight, said that we were living at a time when we needed more representation and we didn't really have anything. He was the one that said I should go into politics.

I bear no ill will, and certainly bear no grudge against anyone.

Unfortunately, in ending the Bute House Agreement in the manner I did, I clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset I caused Green colleagues.

Politics can be a brutal business. It takes its toll on your physical and mental health, your family suffer along side you.

When you're first minister, I always say you're never alone, yet it is the loneliest job in the world because no one quite understands, other than the people who had been first minister before, what you're going through.

Leaving government and leaving the office of first minister was hard. It's not just the circumstance because I've always believed that as soon as I entered politics, it's obviously going to come to an end at some point.

Look, I've had some of the worst abuse, not just racism or Islamophobia.

I would have loved to have been first minister for longer. But you've got to accept that when your time is up, it is up.

I think the SNP, if we can keep focused on what matters to people, keep delivering for them, get rid of some of the more difficult issues around our neck, then I think we'll be in a really good place.

If you want a first minister that only answers to Scotland, not to his boss in London, then you're going to have to vote for John Swinney.

In my opinion Elon Musk is one of the most dangerous men on the planet.

Nigel Farage has spent his entire political career making money from dog whistle politics. If there's a dog whistle to be blown, he'll be first in the queue to blow it.