Scottish Muslim leader's rise underlines 'new norm' in the UK

The jury is out on whether Humza Yousaf can deliver independence for Scotland.

But history's verdict will be clear on the 37-year-old's breakthrough as the first Muslim leader of a western European democracy.

The newly-elected head of the Scottish National Party (SNP) joins the growing ranks of leaders from Britain's old imperial possessions who are remaking the face of UK politics.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is the Hindu son of parents whose familial roots lie in India.

One of the new SNP leader's chief adversaries in the Edinburgh parliament will be Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who is also of Pakistani heritage.

The evolution confirms "how far ethnic and faith diversity at the top has become a new norm across British politics," said Sunder Katwala, director of the demographics think tank British Future.

King Charles III will now be inviting a Hindu prime minister of Britain and a Muslim first minister of Scotland to his coronation in May, he noted in the Eastern Eye newspaper.

That sends "a powerful message to the world about how much public life in Britain has changed, to an extent unparalleled in comparable democracies."

Among Sunak's most senior cabinet lieutenants, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are also people of colour.