Labour bid to oust SNP Scottish Government with no confidence motion fails

Anas Sarwar refused to throw out his no-confidence motion despite Humza Yousaf resigning as First Minister

Scottish Labour’s bid to oust the Scottish Government has failed, in a debate that was dominated by the SNP leadership race.

Party leader Anas Sarwar’s motion of no confidence in the Government was defeated by 70 votes to 58 on Wednesday after he failed to secure the backing of the Scottish Greens.

Mr Sarwar had hoped to force an early Scottish election, saying Scotland had been “squandered by two incompetent governments”.

He said: “It’s time for the people of Scotland to have their say - it is time to elect a government that’s capable of delivering on the ambitions and hopes of the people. That’s why I have no confidence in this SNP Government to deliver stability and that’s why it’s time for change.”

Scottish Labour is desperate for an election, trying to capitalise on recent good polling for them ahead of a UK general election. Recent polling suggests Labour would be neck-and-neck with the SNP if a Scottish election was to be called now.

Mr Sarwar’s motion of no-confidence was backed by the Scottish Conservatives, the Scottish Lib Dems, and Ash Regan, a former Government minister who defected from the SNP to Alba last year.

However, the Scottish Greens, who previously backed a Conservative motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf as First Minister, voted against the motion. They said dissolving the Government would delay “urgently needed” legislation on things like rent controls and climate change.

Green co-leader Patrick Harvie accused the opposition parties of creating “chaos for the sake of chaos”, and said he instead wanted to see “stable self-government for Scotland”.

Mr Harvie said the SNP could effectively govern as a minority government, after Mr Yousaf lost his pro-independence majority by scrapping the power-sharing deal with the Greens. The SNP has previously run minority governments in Holyrood under both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

Mr Harvie said: “The Government will no longer be a majority government, but minority government can work - it has happened before and it can happen again. It is not beyond any political party to work constructively in that context, if they choose to.”

However, the debate was dominated by the race to replace Mr Yousaf as First Minister, as fierce words were exchanged over his potential successor. Prospective candidates have until Monday to officially put themselves forward to be SNP leader.

So far, no one has nominated, but it is widely expected to be a two-horse race between former deputy first minister John Swinney and former finance secretary Kate Forbes.

There are also reports Mr Swinney and Ms Forbes have held secret talks to try and broker a deal between them that would avoid a leadership contest.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was forced to apologise for his words after branding Mr Swinney “not-so-honest John” during the debate - a reference that clearly angered Ms Sturgeon’s former deputy in the process.

Mr Ross also criticised Ms Forbes, saying she was “more radical a nationalist” than the past two SNP first ministers.

He said: “Kate Forbes ran Scotland’s economy when it lagged behind the rest of the UK. Her budgets put up taxes on Scottish workers and failed to pass on vital relief to Scottish businesses, and she said she wants to hold an independence referendum within three months of the general election.

“She is even more radical a nationalist than Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf. Then there’s ‘honest John’ Swinney - if he is successful, Scotland faces the dreadful prospect of replacing Nicola Sturgeon’s prodigy with Nicola Sturgeon’s right-hand man, of going from the man who left Scotland’s NHS in crisis to the man who left Scotland’s schools in crisis, of going from one failed leader to another leader who has already failed.

“Whichever nationalist wins, we already know they’ll obsess about independence over everything else.”

This was echoed by Mr Sarwar on the Labour benches, who said a leadership contest would make the SNP more “divided”, bringing more chaos to an SNP Government in Holyrood.

He said: “It is now clear that the SNP as a political party is so chaotic, divided and dysfunctional, that it can’t deliver competent government and is failing Scots every day. I don’t believe changing the face at the top is going to change that.

“Let’s look at the two candidates being suggested - Kate Forbes and John Swinney. There are already SNP ministers briefing journalists that if Kate Forbes was to become leader, they would actively look to stop her being able to form a government - that would be even more chaos.

“And John Swinney, the man who has been at the heart of the SNP Government for the last 17 years, the heart of the SNP leadership for the last 40 years, the finance secretary that broke the public finances and the worst education secretary in the history of the Scottish Parliament - hardly the competence or the change our country needs.”

MSPs had been due to hold a second vote of no confidence, this time on Mr Yousaf as First Minister. Mr Ross lodged the motion last week after Mr Yousaf ended the Bute House Agreement and removed Green ministers Mr Harvie and Lorna Slater from his Cabinet.

This motion was backed by Scottish Labour, the Scottish Lib Dems and the Scottish Greens, leaving Mr Yousaf’s fate in the hands of Ms Regan. But after Mr Yousaf resigned on Monday, Mr Ross withdrew his motion, saying it had achieved its purpose in getting rid of the First Minister.