 Dificado that concludes topical questions. The next item of business is the selection of the Parliament's nominee as First Minister. Noet explaining, the procedures to be followed this afternoon has been made available to members. I have received four valid nominations for selection of the Parliament's nominee for First Minister and I will now announce the nominations in alphabetical order. Felly yw Alex Cole-Hamilton, Douglas Ross, Anna Sarwar a Humsiy Yusof. Rwyf i ddisgrif Llodd i swyddfa i gael gwybodaeth yr oeddwnaeth gyda'u cynderddau fod yw gwybodaeth sydd fel 5 dim. A fyddwn i'n troi gwybodaeth gwybodaeth i gael gwybodaeth newydd yn cwmp iaith, mae'r cadwyddoedd cydverlagnol wedi'n cwestiynau'r gwybodaeth fyddwn i gael ei gwellad ac mae'n gyf péndi'r gwybodaeth. Once all voting has been completed, any member who has not yet voted will be invited to cast a vote to abstain and there will be a short suspension while the result is verified and I will then announce the results of voting. A candidate will be elected if an overall majority is obtained, if no majority is obtained, the candidate or candidates with the smallest number of votes will be eliminated and I would ask members to note that if we have not yet vote between only two candidates. All that is required as a simple majority for one of the candidates to be elected. Members may wish to record an abstention and no account of those votes will be taken in establishing whether a simple majority has been achieved. We will then proceed to a further round of voting. I now call on Alex Cole-Hamilton. I rise to speak to my candidacy for the Office of First Minister of вый いる I am a candidate in this contest because this is a democracy, and democracies are about the presentation of differing visions as to how things could be, about bringing to the fore the priorities of the constituents who sent us all here to this place. Here and now we are as far as it is possible to be from a Scottish parliamentary election. We are midstream and have a governing party in disarray, adrift and out of ideas. It brings to mind the words of Robert Browning, who nearly two centuries ago wrote, Glad was I when I reached the other bank now, now for a better country. The members in this chamber will reject my candidacy today, I understand that, but ours is a vision for that better country. You will not find a prospectus more positive or more ambitious from anyone else. Because Liberal Democrats believe in a Scotland that is industrious, innovative and internationalist of outlook, I want us to make things again, to harness the collective potential of our peoples and our natural resources, a Scotland that delivers for those working in our schools, in our hospitals and in our fields. They are tired of the ministerial disinterest that has characterised much of this past 16 years. They are tired of a Government fixated on the break-up of the United Kingdom. We have to put the people first. Liberal Democrats understand what matters to them because we ask them, door by door and street by street in the villages and towns of Scotland. They want to know when they will get that hip replacement. They want to know why their kid has been left behind in school or is left waiting for mental health treatment. They want to know why they have to live in a cold home. They are looking to the chamber for answers. That is why I am in politics. It is what keeps me awake at night. Liberal Democrats would cut waiting times and abandon the SNP paragraph of social care. We would deliver an emergency insulation programme that makes every home a warm one while slashing our carbon emissions. We would strive to make our classrooms inviting places to work and to learn by always paying our teachers what they are worth, tackling violence in our schools and scrapping national testing. Liberal Democrats are by nature solutions focused. We are crackling with policy ideas. My goodness, do not we need some of them right now? Our world is changing. Scotland faces big international questions. Our world is on fire in the climate emergency. We are witness to the mass displacement of those fleeing unimaginable atrocities. We will come to look back on this time with an understanding that we were already living in the early days of a new cold war. These challenges demand a new kind of politics. It is a politics of hope, of democratic reform, a politics of common endeavour across nations that share our values and our corner of this world. I stand today on that ticket because the Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of co-operation across these islands, the party of local power through federalism and, yes, the true party of Europe. Make no mistake, there is more water behind this Government than lies ahead of it. Change is coming and Liberal Democrats will be part of what is next. If we want it to, that change could start with this vote this afternoon. We do not have to settle for continuity, for mediocrity, for more of the divisive and dreary same. That other bank could actually be in sight. We just have to reach for it now for a better country. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. In 2021, I put myself forward as my party's candidate for First Minister, because I believe that Scotland needed a real alternative, an alternative that focused on the big challenges that our country was facing. Now, at the end of the Sturgeon era and a fractious SNP leadership election, it is clear that alternative is still needed. This nationalist Government is moving further and further away from the real priorities of Scottish people, like helping struggling families through the global cost of living crisis, helping those who want to see our Scottish economy flourish once more, and rebuilding our demoralised and overstretched NHS. Those are the big challenges that we are facing today, and those are the challenges that Scottish people want every single one of us MSPs in this chamber to be laser-focused on. Yet, instead, we have seen from the party of government them being consumed by the debate on independence and furthering their nationalist obsession. The SNP has been fiddling while Rome burns. They have abdicated responsibility for governing our country in favour of again attempting to reboot their entire campaign for separation. Hamza Yousaf has been at the forefront of this debate. He has said that every election should be about independence. He has proclaimed himself to be the first activist of the nationalist movement. Yesterday, in his very first act as leader of his party, he demanded another independence referendum from the UK Government. An image, if you needed it, that the nationalists have the wrong priorities for this country. At a time when our country needs national leadership, we have yet again been given another nationalist leader, but one even more divisive than the last. Hamza Yousaf will not bring Scotland together. He will not focus on the big challenges facing our economy, our public services and families up and down the country. Over the last month, he has been running our NHS part-time while prioritising his own leadership ambitions. In this, his final day as health secretary, figures show that just 63 per cent of patients were seen at A&E within the target time, down from 87 per cent when he was given that most important job within Government. His fellow cabinet member, Kate Forbes, was absolutely right to be scathing about his record in Government. It turns out that almost half of SNP members in this election agreed with her. Scotland needs a real alternative, focused on the big challenges that our country is facing. That is why, as leader of the main opposition party in this chamber, I am putting myself forward for the position of First Minister. We already know the way that the votes are going to go. Hamza Yousaf has stitched up a backroom deal with the Greens to keep his nationalist government in power. I will just repeat it. Hamza Yousaf has stitched up a backroom deal with the Greens to keep his nationalist government in power. With an anti-growth party within Government, sadly Scotland will be the poorer as a result. Today is also about the future, because the contest that the SNP has just been through shows beyond any doubt that the SNP is not invincible. That continued nationalist government in Scotland is not inevitable. As we enter into the post-sturgeon era, we can see that the post-SNP Scotland is also in reach. A chance to bend the nationalist never-endoms and put the real priorities of Scottish people first is past time that the SNP paid the price for their failures in Government and single-minded focus on dividing our country with another independence referendum. In communities across Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives are the only party that can beat the SNP in both next year's general election and the next Scottish Parliament election to make that happen. Over the last two years, my party has been building a positive programme focused on the real challenges that Scotland faces. I am not sure why SNP members laugh when I am about to speak about the right to recovery bill. The right to recovery bill that we publish that will tackle Scotland's drug deaths scandal and has now been endorsed by all sides of this chamber, we set out our plans for a rural development bank to invest in infrastructure that rural communities and farming businesses need to thrive. We are bringing forward a victims law that would ensure that we place the justice system on the side of victims, not criminals. We set out plans for a rent-to-own model and tax cuts for first-time buyers that would ensure that home ownership in Scotland is not an unaffordable dream but can become reality. We have plans to deliver a skills revolution to ensure that every Scot has a right to retrain. Those are just some of the positive policies from the platform that we have been building. Today, Nationalists in this chamber will give Humsor Yousaf a blank check to again push forward his party's independence obsession, but in the elections to come, Scotland can make the SNP pay the price for ignoring our real priorities, and in so many areas across Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives are the only party that can make that happen. I call on Anna Sarwar. Scotland's incoming First Minister has been left with an overflowing entry to deal with. Our country is in the grip of two devastating crises, an NHS crisis brought about by the current SNP administration's failure to prepare, and a cost-of-living crisis created in Downing Street with rising bills, higher food costs and rampant inflation. Our next First Minister must urgently prioritise those challenges. The people of Scotland will expect nothing less, and they will not forgive a First Minister who chooses instead to focus on their own priorities. I pledge to always put the people's priorities first. Following Nicola Sturgeon's long period in office, we need a First Minister for all of Scotland, not just a First Minister for half the country. As someone once said, more of the same is an acceptance of mediocrity. Continuity won't cut it. The conclusion of the bitter SNP leadership contest does not bring an end to the division and incompetence that has been on display in recent weeks. And when we look at that entry awaiting in Bute House, it's clear that we need a First Minister without the distractions of a broken political party behind them and without the culture of secrecy and cover-up, which has been the hallmark of 16 years of SNP government. A regime that has left us with record A&E waiting times, with one in seven Scots on an NHS waiting list, record drug deaths, record vacancies for nurses and doctors in our NHS, record levels of homelessness, an entrenched attainment gap, falling business numbers, the ferry scandal, broken promises on green jobs, devastating cuts to councils and only last week the damning verdict on child poverty in the Scottish Government's own report, Little Recent Change. We need change. People across our country are crying out for the answers to the real issues that they are facing. Our task is to show that Scotland can have a better, more exciting and more prosperous future if we unleash our country's potential. A better future for Scotland starts with a plan. A plan to unlock the extraordinary talents and innovation of the Scottish people. A plan where we create more highly paid jobs, high-tech industries and more chances to reskill so that working people in Scotland are better off. A Scotland where our public service is a once again the envy of the world. Scotland is crying out for change, but a new for SNP First Minister isn't going to be enough. Scotland needs something different than a continuity candidate. After years of failure under this SNP administration, we need a First Minister who truly believes in the extraordinary potential of the Scottish people because I know that our country can do so much better. We need a First Minister with the political will, the belief in our people and our nation, and the driving ambition to deliver the change that Scotland needs. A First Minister with the determination to save our NHS by increasing capacity in A&Es, providing better NHS 24 support, freeing up beds and valuing our NHS staff by improving working conditions. A First Minister willing to listen to the worries of people and businesses across Scotland as he struggles with the cost of living crisis and who is prepared to take action to help. A First Minister who recognises that being green isn't about propping up a failed Government in return for ministerial jobs but is actually about delivering actual green jobs and putting Scotland at the heart of the UK's renewable revolution. It's about having a plan that delivers economic growth and innovation, encourages good business and supports employees. It's about fulfilling the promise of home ownership that has been dashed for far too many in Scotland and it's about refusing to accept that the little recent change is good enough when it comes to tackling poverty but instead makes it the defining mission of the office of First Minister. Now I know that everyone in this chamber has made up their mind and it isn't open to persuasion but I'm more interested in winning the debate in the country than in this chamber because people across this country deserve better than a Government focused on their own priorities rather than yours. From my promise to those watching across Scotland, I will work day and night to earn your trust and to win your support because this isn't as good as it gets. Change is possible and I am determined that the Scottish Labour Party I lead will deliver the change that Scotland needs. Presiding Officer, it is a privilege of my life to stand before you and fellow MSPs as a nominee for First Minister of Scotland. Of course I have made up my mind who I am voting for and I thank the other nominees for their remarks. When my predecessor made her opening contribution on this occasion in 2014, she rightly remarked that two female party leaders, herself and Ruth Davidson, being nominated was a good advert for modern Scotland. She was, of course, right. There's also quite a signal of the progress that we have made as a country as well as a Parliament that two of the candidates who are putting themselves forward are from a minority ethnic communities. That's a majority of MSPs in this Parliament belong to parties led by two people of colour, two people of the Muslim faith. The fact that no one, no one but as an eyelid at this, tells me that we are making progress in our nation for which we should all be very, very proud indeed. Ahead of the vote, I intend to keep my comments relatively brief. There is no doubt at all that Nicola Sturgeon leaves some very big shoes to fill indeed, as well as her many domestic achievements, which I hope to pay tribute to after our Parliament has voted. She has built up an international profile for the office of First Minister, which leaders of many independent countries, never mind devolve Governments, could only dream of. The fact that Scotland is playing such a significant role on many of the key international issues of the day, such as tackling climate change, renewable energy, the wellbeing economy, is down in a huge part to her leadership. Everyone holding office of First Minister, no matter their views and Scottish independence, should aspire to do likewise. If Parliament votes for me today, I pledge that I will continue to ensure that Scotland is a positive, progressive voice on the world stage. Over the last few weeks, I and my fellow SNP candidates have had the pleasure of travelling the length and breadth of Scotland, participating in party hustings, debates and also meeting with countless local businesses, community groups and members of the public. There is no doubt that people and businesses are feeling the significant pressures of the cost of living crisis. The first job of any First Minister is to keep people safe and to lead them through the tough times. If elected, that is exactly what I intend to do. Presiding Officer, what I have also seen over the last few weeks is that people are optimistic, they are ambitious about the future of Scotland. We must always give people hope. We have come through so much together as a country, particularly in the past few years, and we have demonstrated a resilience that many of us thought we did not have. It is often in the darkest of hours that we see the best of humanity. No more was that true than during the global pandemic. In tough times, it is often easy to forget how lucky we are to live in a country blessed with such immense natural resources and human talent, one that is brimming with potential and ingenuity. I firmly believe that Scotland's best days lie in front of us. As First Minister, I will work tirelessly to make sure that that is the case. I have been privileged to hold ministerial office for over a decade. In that time, I think that it is fair to say that I have been tested in what some people, I am sure that most people would agree, are some of the toughest roles in government. I have never shied away from those responsibilities. In fact, I see it as an honour to be entrusted with them. I have always believed that leadership is about running towards and embracing challenges rather than shying away from them. We might not be able to achieve everything that we want, all of the time and all at once, but every day in office is an opportunity to make things a bit better than they were yesterday. I will always be impatient to go faster. If the chamber chooses me today as their nomination for First Minister, I will never shie away from tackling the big issues that our country faces. I will lead a Government that listens carefully and respects the views of all MSPs. My starting point will always be that we all want the best for Scotland and the people that we are so privileged to represent. I will stand up unequivocally for this Parliament and against any attempts to undermine devolution. I will work every hour of every day to harness the potential of Scotland and every single person in it. I will place no limits on the ambitions that we have collectively for ourselves, for our country or, indeed, for the world that we live in. Before we move on to the vote, there will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting system. Thank you. We now move to voting. And may I remind members that they must vote once only and must only use their yes button in the voting app when voting. If any member records a vote other than a yes vote, we will rerun the voting question. Once the voting for candidates is completed, members who have not voted for a candidate will then be given the opportunity to vote to abstain by pressing the yes button. I will announce the result once all votes have been cast and verified. The first vote is for Alex Cole-Hamilton. Only members who wish to cast their vote for Alex Cole-Hamilton should take part in this vote by voting yes. No other members should vote. Members who wish to vote for Alex Cole-Hamilton should vote yes now. We move on to the next vote and the next vote is for Douglas Ross. Only members who wish to cast their vote for Douglas Ross should take part in this vote by voting yes. No other member should vote. Members who wish to vote for Douglas Ross should vote yes now. The vote is closed. I call Ros McAll for a point of order. Sorry, I wouldn't connect. I would have voted yes. We move on to the next vote and the next vote is for Anna Sarwar. Only members who wish to cast their vote for Anna Sarwar should take part in this vote by voting yes. No other members should vote and members who wish to vote for Anna Sarwar should vote yes now. The vote is closed. We move on to the next vote. The next vote is for Humza Yousaf. Only members who wish to cast their vote for Humza Yousaf should take part in this vote by voting yes. No other members should vote. Members who wish to vote for Humza Yousaf should vote yes now. The vote is closed. I can confirm that you have voted, Mr Stewart. I can confirm that your vote has been recorded, Mr Stewart. I can confirm that your vote has been recorded, Mr Stevenson. Point of order, Ms McElwey. It's just frozen, Presiding Officer, so I can double check and have a devoted yes, of course. I can confirm that your vote has been recorded, Ms McElwey. That concludes the vote for all candidates. The next vote is for any members who have not yet voted and who wish to record an abstention. Members wishing to abstain should press their yes button now. The vote has closed. That concludes this round of voting and there will now be a suspension while the votes are verified. In this round of voting, in the selection of the Parliament's nominee as First Minister, the number of votes cast for each candidate is as follows. Alex Cole-Hamilton, 4, Douglas Ross, 31, Anna Sarwar, 22, Humza Yousaf, 71. As an overall majority has been reached, the candidate selected as the Parliament's nominee for the position of First Minister is Humza Yousaf. I will now call each of the party leaders to respond and I now call Douglas Ross. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I begin by recognising this historic moment? I want to congratulate Humza Yousaf personally on his election. I know what an honour it will be for him and how proud that will make his family watching here today. I also want to congratulate him as the first person of an ethnic minority to become First Minister. With both the First Minister and the Prime Minister representing the UK's diverse communities, it sends a strong positive message to everyone that there are no barriers to what you can achieve in this country. I think that that is something you can all be proud of. That is probably where the consensus is going to end, but they are genuine heartfelt. Regrettably, the new First Minister seems to be doing his best to imitate his predecessor. Instead of setting out a platform to focus on Scotland's real priorities, Humza Yousaf has confirmed that he wants to continue the constitutional conflict with the UK Government, continuing to attempt to appeal to his divided party, rather than the wider Scottish public. The record player has changed, but the tune remains the same. I think that history will look back and judge this to be a massive missed opportunity for our country. While we on this side of the chamber will always look to cooperate with the Scottish Government when it is exclusively focused on tackling the big challenges that Scotland faces, the tone that Humza Yousaf has set for his Government in choosing to double down on his party's independence obsession suggests that those moments may be few and far between. The Scottish Conservatives will hold Humza Yousaf's Government to account when it strays away from the key challenges facing Scotland today, and we will always stand up in this Parliament for the ideas and values that represent the real priorities of Scottish people. I note that, with the election of Humza Yousaf as leader, we remain in the position that I am the only party leader that does not represent a seat in one of Scotland's two largest cities. That gives the Scottish Conservatives additional responsibilities to stand up for all our villages, towns and cities, to be a champion for rural Scotland and to represent the whole country. I also note that, with Humza Yousaf's election to head up the SNP, I am now the only leader of a major political party in Scotland not to have been privately educated at Hutchison's Grammar School. Instead, coming from a working-class background, I attended my local schools at Avis Primary and Forest Academy. Increasingly, it is the Scottish Conservatives that represent the values of working Scotland in this chamber. As we have shown time and time again on the Gender Reform Bill, on the Heat Crime Act and on named persons, it was the Scottish Conservatives who were the only voice speaking up for the views of a clear majority of the Scottish public. Voters across Scotland expect the parties in this chamber to focus on their priorities, not their own political obsessions, and any party that fails to do so should pay the price for that failure. We were all elected to solve the big challenges facing Scotland, and today those challenges are as stark as ever. An NHS in crisis, families struggling with the cost of living crisis, and an underperforming Scottish economy, it is incumbent on all of us to focus on those issues. Let's get on with the job of tackling them for the people of Scotland. On behalf of Scottish Labour, I offer my sincerest congratulations to Humza Yousaf on being nominated as our next First Minister. Humza Yousaf and I have known each other for many years, and I know that he and his family will rightly enjoy a feeling of pride today in what he has achieved and a special thought for his wife, his beautiful girls, his mum and dad and, of course, his sister. They are rightly proud today. Regardless of our politics, we should all take immense pride that this country is to have its first minority ethnic First Minister. Whatever our political differences, and there will be many in the months ahead, today's significance cannot be understated. It is something that our grandparents would never, ever have imagined when they arrived in this country and made Scotland their home. Reaching this historic moment has not been easy. I know that he has faced personal abuse and racism, as have so many others, who do not have the platform that he and I are fortunate to have. I am proud of the work that we have done alongside others to stand against hatred and bigotry, and I promise that I will continue to stand alongside you in that fight for all of us. In extending my congratulations to Humza Yousaf on being appointed as the first First Minister for my minority ethnic background, for obvious reasons I hope he is not the last. In the meantime, however, as I said in my remarks earlier, we need a First Minister for all of Scotland. During the SNP leadership contest, which we have all watched with disbelief, I understand that he had to pander to his party faithful by promising to prioritise independence. I urge him now to leave the inward-looking and divisive approach behind and work on behalf of every person in our country, regardless of their constitutional position, because nothing is more important right now than the twin crises that our nation faces, the NHS crisis created by the SNP Government and the cost of living crisis exacerbated by the Tories. That is not all that is in the entry. The new First Minister has been left to pick up a catalogue of failure by his predecessors and the challenge ahead is immense. After 15 years of SNP rule, not a single institution in Scotland is stronger. I hope that this moment ushers in some better governance for the people of Scotland, but if I am honest, I do not hold out that hope. It is clear that the SNP does not have the answers that Scotland needs. The First Minister now leads a chaotic and divided party out of touch and out of ideas. There are those who would describe today's events as a coronation without an election. You could even say, quoting a farce inflicted on Scotland and that the SNP has failed a democratic test. I know that that might cause discomfort with some on the Government's benches, but those are not my words. They are the words of John Swinney when he was making this speech in 2001. While Mr Yousaf has inherited the SNP's woeful record, he has not inherited Nicola Sturgeon's mandate. That is why we need an election, because only through a change of government will we be able to truly deliver the better governance that Scotland needs. So, if the First Minister is, as he describes himself, a democracy defender, he would call that election now. If he lacks the courage for that, then the least we can ask is that he uses the power of government to change people's lives for the better. This Parliament has the immense power to change Scotland. That should be the opportunity ahead of us. Again, my promise, where we can find consensus or common cause in this chamber, we should work together. When we disagree, as we inevitably will, from those benches, we will always attempt to offer positive alternatives. There is a job of everyone in this chamber to look to the future, not to the past, and to help to realise the unfulfilled potential of devolution. We can do that if we rise to the ambition of the people of Scotland. For that, I will strive every day. He must do the same. Presiding Officer, my Scottish Green colleagues and I were delighted to vote for Humza Yousaf as our next First Minister. That follows on the unanimous decision by our party council yesterday to continue with the Bute House agreement between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government. Today represents a historic milestone, our youngest ever First Minister, our first Muslim leader and the first minority ethnic leader of a devolved Government in the UK. It also represents the continuation of our historic agreement, which brought Greens into Government for the first time in the UK. Humza Yousaf has been a great supporter of the Bute House agreement. That support has been consistent and strong throughout the last six weeks, and for that he has my and my party's gratitude. Presiding Officer, let me take this opportunity to remind the chamber why the Bute House agreement is so important to us and to the future of Scotland. Firstly, the agreement is built on a shared commitment to constructive, collaborative, grown-up politics, a politics that builds on good faith and trust as core values. The kind of grown-up, collaborative politics that this Parliament was designed to embody that citizens take for granted in other modern European countries. We sit here today in this horseshoe shape for a reason. The design of this chamber seeks to be a rejection of the adversarial opposition for opposition's sake style of Westminster politics. Like so many parliaments across Europe, here in Holyrood, we sit together in a semi-circle to build consensus across the chamber. Secondly, the Bute House agreement reflects the pro-independence ambition that Scotland voted for in 2021. It delivers a government that is committed to Scotland becoming a modern, independent nation at the heart of the European Union. I look forward to the two parties of government continuing to build and make that case. Finally, the agreement is based on a bold and progressive policy platform that is making Scotland fairer and greener. I am proud of what we have already delivered in the first 18 months of our collaborative government, an emergency rent freeze, free bus travel for young people, record funding for the nature and climate emergencies, doubling the Scottish child payment, an active travel investment programme that rivals the best of our European neighbours, an energy strategy that recognises that we need to leave oil and gas in the ground, and more. I look forward to building on those successes, delivering more for the people of Scotland, our climate and our environment. Our work has only just begun, from delivering on our commitment to create highly protected marine areas so that our oceans can regenerate after decades of decline to a bold new climate plan. We will deliver a greener Scotland. From bringing in permanent rent controls and new rights for tenants to delivering new social security protections, we will deliver a fairer Scotland. And from banning cruel conversion practices and bringing in safe access zones around abortion clinics, we will deliver a more compassionate Scotland. Presiding Officer, let me conclude by saying that my Scottish Green colleagues and I look forward to working with the new First Minister and Scottish Government to deliver a fairer, greener, independent Scotland. It is needed now more than ever before. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I begin, as others have done, by offering the congratulations of the Scottish Liberal Democrats to Humza Yousaf on his nomination as First Minister? I wish him and his family who are here in the gallery today, a belated Ramadan Mubarak, that a person of his faith and ethnicity can ascend the highest office in the land is truly a historic moment in the progress of our nation. I hope he was made to feel welcome in Murrayfield yesterday. Members may recall that he was in fact there four weeks ago during the recent Council by-election. I believe it is a sign of things to come that his presence and involvement in that campaign saw the SNP lose a third of their vote and the seat to the Liberal Democrats in what was the largest by-election victory in my party's history. Presiding Officer, I first got to know Humza Yousaf during a different Ramadan 11 years ago. I was in youth work at the time and I took him on a community shift in government. Fasting, he had not had a drop of water or anything to eat and we walked for nine miles over five hours talking to young people along the way and engaging them in activities. As he'd been recently elected, he didn't want his local recognition to get in the way of his interactions with young people we met. So he asked myself and the other youth workers to introduce him simply as Harry. We duly did that. Everything went fine. He passed on without recognition until one young lad we met in Elder Park piped up. Yes, but aren't you Harry Yousaf off the telly? The measure of effective leadership is to listen to and to recognise that a good idea is a good idea. Regardless of whether it comes from those kids in Govan or from the opposition benches, it is being willing to reach across the aisle when times get tough, like we all did in the early days of the pandemic. The measure of effective leadership is to raise the standard of public debate above the divisions of the past. It's about growing up politics. In 16 years we haven't seen a great deal of that. The new First Minister has said that he will talk to all opposition leaders. I welcome that and he has my number and I will tell him about our desire to see a dedicated mental health minister who will actually clear down waiting lists. I will tell him about the desperate need for more support and meaningful care pathways for nearly 200,000 Scots who are suffering from Covid-19. About the mums in the far north who are forced to travel two hours down the treacherous A9 to give birth because their maternity unit was closed. About how we could lift attainment in our schools through a nursery premium and by attracting and retaining the best teachers. About the pig's ear of a good idea that is a deposit return scheme that will take Scottish produce off Scottish shelves. And about why this government needs to stop the dumping of raw sewage in our rivers and on our beaches. I could go on because there is a disconnect between the focus of the governing parties and the needs and interests of this country. People are turning away from the divisions of the past and their patience for those who deviate from what matters to them is finite. Change is coming for both of our governments. We need to fix our broken politics and restore integrity. I did not prevail today, but just like in Murrayfield, change is coming and the Scottish Liberal Democrats will be part of what is next. But for now, I want to recognise that this is a significant day for Humza Yousaf as it is for the diversity in our country. Well done, Harry. Can I thank the other party leaders for their remarks? I am very aware, of course, that they may never be so nice to me again. While the vote may have seemed like a formality, the fact that a few of my colleagues raised a point of order just after voting for me did raise my blood pressure ever so slightly. Let me also remind Anas Alwar in particular that I have his father's number on speed dial, so if he is not nice to me, I will be having words. The generosity of comments that have been made matches the spirit of the remarks that were made by Donald Dure 24 years ago when he became Scotland's first minister. Donald Dure emphasised, and I quote, the common aims that we share across this chamber of giving people a better life and a better future. The Government I lead will dedicate itself very much to those aims, and I hope to work with colleagues across the chamber in doing so. This is a proud day for me, a proud day for my family, and I can hear my three-year-old speaking and waving to me from the chamber. I am only on my second page, darling. There is a few, a little bit more to come. It is a really proud day for me and my family. I hope that it is also a proud day for Scotland as it speaks to our values as a country, as I stand here as the first-ever Muslim to lead a western democratic nation. You tried telling that to 16-year-old Humza Yousaf, who, post 9-11, was questioned constantly about his loyalty to this country. We have collectively come a long way. I am joined by too many family members and friends to mention, but I hope that the chamber will indulge me, as there are a few that I would like to mention. My mum and dad have always been unwavering in their support of me. As a young Scots Asian, it was often the norm of expectation that we would end up as either doctors, dentists, pharmacists, accountants or lawyers. However, I remember vividly the nerves that I felt and the very pit of my stomach the day I decided to tell my parents that I wanted to study politics instead of law. Far from giving me, as my mum put it in news reports yesterday, a clip round the ear, they could not have been more supportive, saying that it was vital, it was important that people like us were also represented in politics. From that day to this very moment, they have encouraged me every single step of the way. I could not be making history without them. To my wife and my girls, you are my everything, and being First Minister will not change that. It may mean that you see me slightly less often, but to my three-year-old Amal in particular, be aware that there are plenty of stairs in Bute House, so if you misbehave there will still be a naughty step to put you on. Though so far I am pleased that everyone seems to be on their best behaviour. The years after 9-11 were not easy for Muslims growing up in Scotland or indeed across the UK. I have lost count of how many times my identity, my loyalty to Scotland, the only country that I have ever and will ever call home, has been questioned over the years. There was a time not all that long ago when I felt that I simply did not belong here in Scotland. To go from there to now leading the Government as Scotland's sixth First Minister, I hope to send a strong message to every single person out there who feels that they do not belong. No matter what anyone says, no matter who you are, whether Scotland has been your home for a day or for 10 generations, no matter your ethnicity, no matter your gender, no matter your religion, no matter your sexual orientation, your transgender identity or disability, this is your home. Do not let anyone ever tell you that you are not good enough. Do not let anyone ever tell you that you do not belong. As First Minister, I will always fight for your rights and, where possible, I will do everything that I can to advance them. I will always stand up for social justice more widely and for making Scotland a fairer as well as a wealthier nation. A key priority of my Government will be to protect every Scott as far as we can from the harm that has been inflicted by the cost of living crisis. One of my first conversations as First Minister will be with anti-poverty groups to explore what more we can do within our devolved powers to tackle child poverty. We will protect and we will reform our NHS in social care and other vital public services to support a wellbeing economy, to improve the life chances of people right across our country. We will rapidly develop plans to extend childcare, improve rural housing, support small businesses and boost innovation. We will keep the promise that we have made to people with experience of the care system. Not just young people, as important of course as that is, but we recognise that care experience is lifelong. We will bring forward reforms of the criminal justice system, continue our work to reduce drugs deaths and create a new deal with local government to empower local authorities to meet the challenges of the day. We will support businesses, we will seize the economic and social opportunities of a just transition to net zero, and we will continue to ensure that Scotland uses its voice on the international stage. On Thursday I will nominate the team of ministers who will deliver on those priorities. I will then set out more detailed policies to this chamber in the first week after the Easter recess. I will be very proud to build on the record of the Government that has been led by Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney. At the Scottish child payment, the expansion of childcare, Scotland's international leadership and the transition to net zero, they are championing of equality. Through all those achievements and many more besides, Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney have both left a significant legacy of which I am very, very grateful to them for. However, I know that there is also so much more to come from both of them. Well, certainly once Nicola Sturgeon has finished taking her driving fee test, of course. I will also continue, as she did, to argue tirelessly for independence. In my view, and it is of course the view of the majority in this Parliament, that we will be able to deliver on our priorities more effectively when Scotland is independent. We will certainly deliver them less effectively if we allow the UK Government to arbitrarily veto this Parliament's legislation. Unsurprisingly, I will also argue vigorously for independence. While I do that, of course, I understand that the strongest argument that this Government can make for independence is to make the best possible use of this Parliament's existing powers. I want to reach out to other parties across the chamber as I do that, that is why the point that I want to end on today is not so much about what this Government will do, but how we will do it. At the start of my speech, I stressed the common aims, the common values that we all share. Listening to many of the remarks made in the chamber, not just today, but also after Nicola Sturgeon's statement last Thursday, I think that there is probably a shared appetite across this chamber for a politics that is slightly less polarised and a bit less confrontational. The Government already works in co-operation with the Green Party under the Bute House agreement. That will continue, but I also want to make an open offer to all leaders of all parties in this chamber. That is not an offer that is made naively. I know that we will continue quite frequently to disagree forcefully. That is as it should be. Politics requires strong, reasoned, respectful disagreement. However, for all those disagreements, I also know that we share many areas of common ground, including many of the areas that have been outlined not just by me, but by each party leader today. That is why I will request early meetings with the leaders of other parties in this chamber. I want to work with you where we can to achieve those shared aims. I believe that there is a willingness for that in this chamber and a desire for it right across this country. Just as I will reach out within this Parliament, I will reach out beyond this Parliament too. To the UK Government, I want to stress that I will work with you where I can, when I can, in the best interests of our nation. To our vital partners in local government, the business community, the third sector and the wider public sector, I promise that this Government will listen to you and will work with you. Above all else to the people of Scotland, I want to make this pledge. I will never forget that I am First Minister for all of Scotland, regardless of who you voted for, where you live or where you have come from. Yesterday, I mentioned my grandparents. I have also thought a lot in recent days of my great friend and mentor, the late Bashir Ahmad. He also came to Scotland in the 1960s. He started off driving buses. He became the first member of this Parliament from an ethnic minority. He was by far the kindest and most gentle soul I have ever known. If we were all a little bit more like Bashir than I think our world would be in a far better place, he used to say that it is not important where you come from. What matters is where we are going together as a nation. It is a phrase, I think, of often. It is a phrase that will guide how I and my Government governs. This Parliament has just given me the opportunity to help steer this nation's course as we make the next stage of that journey together. Doing that will be the honour and the privilege of my life. I will strive every single minute of every day to be worthy of it. I look forward to working with each and every one of you, as I do, in the best interests of our nation. On behalf of the Parliament, I congratulate Tamsa Yousaf, as the Parliament's nominee for the position of First Minister. I look forward to working with you. That concludes the selection of First Minister, and it is now time to move on to the next item of business, which is consideration of business motion 8434, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the parliamentary bureau, setting out a business programme. I call on George Adam to move the motion. No member has asked to speak on the motion. Therefore, the question is that motion 8434 be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed. The next item of business is consideration of five parliamentary bureau motions, and I ask George Adam, on behalf of the parliamentary bureau, to move motions 8435 to 8438 on approval of SSIs and 8439 on designation of a lead committee. Thank you, Presiding Officer. On every single one of them moved. Thank you. The question on these motions will be put at decision time, and I am minded to accept a motion without notice under rule 11.2.4 of standing orders, that decision time be brought forward to now, and I invite the minister to move the motion. Be happy to move, Presiding Officer. Thank you. The question is that decision time be brought forward to now. Are we all agreed? We are agreed, and there is one question to be put as a result of today's business. I propose to ask a single question on five parliamentary bureau motions. Does any member object? No member objects. Therefore, the question is that motions 8435 to 8438 on approval of SSIs and 8439 on designation of a lead committee. In the name of George Adam, on behalf of the parliamentary bureau, be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motions are therefore agreed. That concludes decision time, and we will now move on to members' business. There will be a brief suspension to allow the gallery and the chamber to clear.