Humza Yousaf has announced his resignation as First Minister of Scotland.
The embattled and emotional leader of the Scottish National Party said he had concluded he was no longer the best person to lead his party and country.
On Thursday, Mr Yousaf sacked the two Green Party Ministers from his Government and ripped up the Bute House Agreement his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon had signed with the party.
Instead, he said the SNP would govern as a minority government but his former Green colleagues said they would back a vote of no confidence in his premiership later this week.
Humza Yousaf resigns
Today, Mr Yousaf said he had “underestimated the level of hurt and upset” his decision to end the Bute House Agreement had caused his former ministerial colleagues.
Mr Yousaf said he hoped a new leader would be able to "repair our relationship across the political divide".
The @scottishgreens' confidence in the First Minister was based on the Bute House Agreement, a progressive policy programme he chose to end, losing our support. What is @scotgov's policy platform now? We all, inc SNP members worried about a lurch to the right, deserve to know.
— Ross Greer (@Ross_Greer) April 27, 2024
The Conservatives had tabled a motion of no confidence in Mr Yousaf's leadership in the Scottish Parliament and it was widely expected the First Minister would struggle to win the vote.
The SNP currently hold 63 out of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament. If one more MSP had decided to back Mr Yousaf in this week’s confidence vote, the number of votes cast would be tied and by convention the Presiding Officer (Ceann Comhairle) would cast her vote in favour of the status quo.
Last year, one SNP MSP defected to Alba - a rival nationalist party founded by former First Minister Alex Salmond.
Defector Ash Regan said she was open to supporting Mr Yousaf in this week’s confidence vote but demanded certain policy concessions in exchange.
Long-serving SNP MP Pete Wishart described Alba as “unelectable” and warned his party “if we were to even think of entertaining them they would quickly bring us down to their level.”
Polls suggest the SNP will lose a significant number of seats to the Scottish Labour Party in the General Election expected later this year.
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Main image: First Minister Humza Yousaf. Picture by: Iain Masterton/Alamy Live News
