Humza Yousaf 'seriously considering' SNP leadership bid
- Published
Mr Yousaf said he would consider the potential impact on his family before deciding whether or not to stand
Scotland's health secretary has said he is "seriously considering" standing in the SNP leadership contest.
Humza Yousaf said he would make his intentions clear in the coming days after speaking with his family.
The winner of the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and Scotland's first minister is due to be announced on 27 March.
Ms Sturgeon announced on Wednesday that she was standing down after eight years in the roles.
Other potential candidates including Finance Secretary Kate Forbes - who is currently on maternity leave - and SNP deputy leader Keith Brown are also said to be weighing up whether or not to launch their own bids for the leadership.
Ash Regan - who quit as community safety minister over the Scottish government's gender recognition reforms - has also been tipped as a possible candidate, as has culture minister Neil Gray.
But Deputy First Minister John Swinney and the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn have already ruled themselves out, with high-profile MP Joanna Cherry also saying she will not stand.
Mr Swinney told BBC Scotland that he had tried to talk Ms Sturgeon out of resigning but she "wasn't for having it".
He added: "Now that has happened, the party has to move on, the party has to choose a new leader and that is exactly what it is going to do".
Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland that the job of first minister was the biggest in the country, and that "a lot of people have been in touch" with him about standing.
He added: "Whoever is even contemplating going for it should really take time to give it some serious consideration and that is what I am doing.
"If I did go for it and I did get selected by the membership then of course it wouldn't just have an impact on me, it would have an impact on my family
"I have got two young girls and a wife and a family and therefore I have got think about the impact on them too."
Ms Sturgeon's announcement that she was standing down has shocked Scottish politics
The first minister has faced repeated calls from opposition parties to sack Mr Yousaf over his handling of the NHS, with waiting times at record highs and doctors warning that the country's hospitals are not safe for patients.
Mr Yousaf, who was previously the justice secretary, pointed to the record pay offer he made to NHS staff on Friday, which he said was likely to avoid strike action for the next financial year.
He said: "Scotland is the only part of the UK to have averted strike action for nurses and ambulance staff.
"Of course Scotland is not immune to the challenges of the global pandemic.
"Waiting times are nowhere near the standard we would want to see but they are replicated in health services right across the UK and many parts of Europe too."
Meanwhile, SNP MSP Ivan McKee told BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme that he believed Ms Forbes was "by far" the best candidate for the job and "head and shoulders above everyone else that has been mentioned".
He added: "I am talking to Kate, she is still to make up her mind it must be said, she'll consider that and talk to family and others over the next couple of days and decide what she wants to do.
"I would hope that she decides to stand, and we will find out in the next couple of days what her decision is."
Nominations for the leadership contest will close at noon on Friday 24 February.
A party conference scheduled for 19 March to discuss the SNP's strategy for winning Scottish independence has been postponed.