Humza Yousaf resigns RECAP: First Minister steps down after tumultuous week
Recap as Humza Yousaf resigns as First Minister.
Humza Yousaf resigns as First Minister RECAP
Key Events
- Humza Yousaf has resigned as First Minister and SNP leader
- He will stay on as First Minister until a replacement is found
- Humza Yousaf says he underestimated the hurt caused by ending the Bute House Agreement
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Humza Yousaf is reported to be considering his position as First Minister - keep up-to-date with everything with our live blog.
Humza Yousaf is said to be considering his position as First Minister.
He is facing two votes of no-confidence this week - one in him as First Minister, and one in the whole Scottish Government.
Reports this morning suggest he is getting ready to announce he is stepping down.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie says the First Minister needs to stand down - but insists there is no “personal ill will” with Humza Yousa.
He said: “I don’t bear Humza Yousaf personal ill will or malice in any way at all and I take no pleasure at all, none of us in the Greens do, in turbulence and chaos over the last week or two.
“But it is clear that Humza Yousaf, in the decision that he made last week, has broken trust with the Scottish Greens, cannot command a majority in parliament, and we stand ready to work with someone who can.”
Michelle Thomson MSP, who backed Kate Forbes’s leadership campaign, says she has heard “rumours” the First Minister is considering stepping down rather than facing a vote of no-confidence.
Speaking to BBC Good Morning Scotland, Ms Thomson said: “I’m hearing the same rumours and I think we’re all waiting to see what the actual position is.
“I guess the rumours suggest that something is afoot, but I honestly can’t clarify because I’ve had no update nor, as I understand, have my MSP group, so I guess we’ll all hear definitively one way or another this morning.”
Moving over to Sky News - Ellie Reeves, Labour’s deputy national campaign coordinator, said: “No-one voted for Humza Yousaf and given all of the chaos I think there should be an election up in Scotland so that people in Scotland can have their say on what’s happening up there.
“At the moment they are being failed by an SNP government in Holyrood and a Conservative government in Westminster.”
What happens if Humza Yousaf doesn't resign?
There are two votes of no-confidence scheduled for probably Wednesday afternoon.
The first was put forward by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross of no confidence in Humza Yousaf as First Minister.
The only MSP who has not declared their position on this is Alba MSP Ash Regan.
If Mr Yousaf loses that vote, he is not actually required to resign but it is almost impossible to see how he could stay on.
In that case the parliament has 28 days to find a replacement and if they can’t, parliament gets dissolved and that could lead to a Scottish election.
The second is a vote of no confidence in the whole government, put forward by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
We don’t know what Alba or the Greens are going to do in this vote - but the Conservatives and the Lib Dems say they will back Labour’s motion.
If the government loses that vote, all ministers would have to step down and that could trigger a Scottish election.
What happens if Humza Yousaf resigns?
If Humza Yousaf resigns today as we are hearing, then parliament has 28 days to find a replacement First Minister.
There is no clear standout candidate - there are rumours former deputy first minister and SNP leader John Swinney could be drafted in to take on the job in the interim.
Other reports suggest Kate Forbes, who ran against Humza Yousaf to be SNP leader last year, could put her hat in the ring again, and others suggest Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth could stand.
But if they don’t find a new First Minister within 28 days, then parliament would be dissolved and that could lead to a Scottish election.
Who could replace Humza Yousaf?
I know this is perhaps a bit pre-emptive seeing as Humza Yousaf has not officially announced he is going - but who could replace him?
Reports this morning suggest senior figures within the party want to see John Swinney installed as an interim First Minister.
He is the former deputy first minister and former SNP leader, and has held numerous cabinet positions, including finance secretary, education secretary and Covid-19 recovery secretary.
Other options include Neil Gray - he is a close ally of Humza Yousaf and has been rewarded for his loyalty by being economy secretary and is now the health secretary.
He is seen as a safe pair of hands, but perhaps the “continuity candidate” given he is so close to the current First Minister.
How about Kate Forbes?
She came second in the SNP leadership race last year and remains hugely popular on the SNP backbenches.
Ms Forbes is seen as highly competent given her successful stint as finance secretary, but many disagree strongly with her on social issues as she is against gay marriage, abortions and some see her as a climate change sceptic.
Another name being floated around this morning is Jenny Gilruth, who is education secretary.
Always love to look at bookies’ odds when it comes to things like that.
Coral puts Kate Forbes as the odds-on favourite at 1-2.
Kate Forbes: 1-2
Neil Gray: 2-1
Màiri McAllan: 7-2
Jenny Gilruth: 5-1
Ash Regan: 6-1
John Swinney: 8-1
Fergus Ewing: 16-1.
Labour MSP Paul O’Kane was on BBC Good Morning Scotland programme today.
He said: “We’ve been saying across the weekend it’s a matter of when not if.
“The moment of when is perhaps upon us.”
He added: “This has been a story of chaos and the government is clearly in chaos and is failing the people of Scotland.”
Alba says it is “absurd” for Humza Yousaf to considering resigning as First Minister when he could make a deal with the party to save his position.
Ash Regan, Alba’s only MSP in Holyrood, is the only one not to declare how she will vote in a no-confidence vote and potentially holds the deciding vote.
Alba MP Kenny MacAskill says it would be an “absurd situation” for Mr Yousaf to resign when there is an “opportunity for the SNP to get back on the independence track”.
When asked whether there should be a Scottish election, Mr MacAskill said: “It’s probably not what the Scottish people want.”
Who is Kate Forbes?
We take a look at who the Highland backbencher is who is tipped to be in the running to replace Humza Yousaf as First Minister: https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/who-is-kate-forbes-the-bold-highland-christian-who-could-become-snp-leader-4028902
Humza Yousaf has been spotted leaving his home in Dundee with his aides to travel through to Bute House in Edinburgh.
There is already a media presence outside Bute House, the First Minister’s official residence.
Unfortunately while we have all eyes on Bute House, it means we will be missing the best event of the year - Holyrood Dog of the Year 2024.
A sad day for us all.
The Scottish Conservatives have released a statement claiming responsibility for forcing Humza Yousaf to quit as First Minister.
That’s because party leader Douglas Ross announced he was lodging a motion of no confidence in him as First Minister last week.
Now Mr Ross says: “The Scottish Conservatives have delivered on our promise to be a strong opposition to Humza Yousaf and the SNP.
“We have forced Humza Yousaf out of office for repeatedly failing Scotland.
“Faced with our vote of no confidence, the SNP leader has quit rather than face a humiliating defeat.
“As he leaves office, on a personal level, I wish Humza Yousaf and his family well.
“But we cannot forgive the damage he did to families and households across Scotland by raising taxes, letting NHS waiting lists spiral and attacking free speech.
“The next First Minister must abandon the nationalist obsession with independence and focus solely on Scotland’s top priorities, such as creating jobs and improving our ailing public services.
“Scottish people cannot afford another SNP First Minister focused solely on separating Scotland.
“Humza Yousaf is gone but the SNP remains - and the power to change that is in the hands of Scotland’s voters.
“Now that we have forced Humza Yousaf out of office, we are asking voters to help us beat the SNP in seats up and down Scotland at the next general election.”
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