Scottish Politics LIVE: Bute House Agreement scrapped as Humza Yousaf faces vote of no confidence
We follow live as the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens ends.
Scottish Politics Live: Bute House Agreement has collapsed | Humza Yousaf holds press conference
The Scottish Greens have officially said they will be supporting the vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf as First Minister.
We are hearing more and more rumblings that the Greens could back the no confidence motion in Humza Yousaf.
If that’s the case, it makes Ash Regan MSP the kingmaker here.
She stood against Humza Yousaf to be SNP leader and First Minister last year - a few months later she defected to Alba, becoming the party’s only MSP in Holyrood.
But seeing as she is now under no obligation to back Mr Yousaf, the numbers game at play here means she could technically hold the deciding vote.
Alex Salmond has spoken about his thoughts on this on Times Radio.
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations says today’s “political turmoil” in Holyrood can’t be allowed to distract from Scotland’s housing emergency.
They say there needs to be an “urgent reset” of the government’s affordable homes programme.
This all comes after three councils (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Argyll and Bute) all declared housing emergencies and after the government slashed its housing budget for 2024/25, including cutting £196 million from its affordable housing budget.
Sally Thomas, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said: “The turmoil we are seeing at Holyrood cannot distract from the real and present threat of Scotland’s housing emergency.
“Amid record homelessness and with 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation, the need for safe, warm and affordable rented homes grows ever greater.
“The First Minister has said that the end of the Bute House Agreement represents a ‘new beginning’ for the Scottish Government, and we’d therefore call for an urgent reset on the huge cut to the affordable housing supply programme which is already faltering due to a lack of investment.
“Irrespective of which political parties are in government, Scotland is in desperate need of more social homes - this can only be delivered through sustained public investment.”
While we wait to hear what the Scottish Greens are going to do about this no confidence vote, it’s a good time to ask you if you’ve signed up for The Steamie morning politics newsletter?
You can sign up to get this newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free every weekday morning here: https://www.scotsman.com/newsletter
It sets out the big talking points of the day, what ministers are up to, what is going on in Holyrood and Westminster each day, and some of the political highlights from the paper - what more could you want?
Neil Bibby, Labour MSP, with this amusing image depicting the rise and fall of the Bute House Agreement.
My understanding now is the Scottish Greens will hold a media huddle at around 5.30pm on what they are going to do with this no confidence vote in Humza Yousaf.
The Scottish Greens are meeting this afternoon to decide how they will vote in a motion of no confidence against Humza Yousaf.
They really do hold a lot of power here - if they decide to back Douglas Ross’s motion, then Humza Yousaf really is toast here.
We’re expecting an announcement on what they decide pretty soon - we’ll keep you updated.
Our Deputy Political Editor David Bol takes a look at what the implications could be for Humza Yousaf as he faces a no confidence vote.
The Scottish Parliament says it will tell MSPs what the impact of today will be on parliamentary business.
A spokesperson for the parliament said: “The implications of the ending of the Bute House Agreement on the management of parliamentary business will be considered and members will be informed of these changes in due course.”
So how do no confidence motions work?
Any MSP can lodge one, and if it is supported by at least 25 members, a vote is then scheduled.
MSPs normally get two sitting days’ notice of a motion of no confidence.
A vote of no confidence only requires a simple majority - i.e. more people need to vote for it than against it for it to pass.
If the government lost a vote of no confidence, both the First Minister and ministers would be required to resign and parliament has 28 days to choose a new First Minister by a simple majority vote. If this doesn’t happen, parliament is dissolved.
But this doesn’t necessarily apply to a no confidence vote in the First Minister - it would be up to Humza Yousaf on how he would respond if he loses a vote.
This no confidence motion in Humza Yousaf could be incredibly interesting.
It’s been put forward by the Conservatives and presumably will be backed by all their MSPs. But Labour and the Lib Dems have indicated they are also going to back the no confidence motion.
Which in a weird twist of fate, puts the power into the hands of the Greens. They are the kingmakers here.
Can Humza Yousaf persuade them to keep him (even though Patrick Harvie said earlier the SNP can no longer rely on Green votes) or will they go with the rest of the opposition on this?
Ouch - the Scottish Greens have just released a statement warning the SNP cannot rely on the Greens for votes now that the Bute House Agreement has been scrapped.
Our Political Editor Alistair Grant and Deputy Political Editor David Bol are now waiting to speak to MSPs as they leave the chamber after FMQs. We’ll keep you up-to-date with what they say, and what the government spokespeople say to journalists at their weekly briefing too.
Scottish Labour are calling on Humza Yousaf to call a Scottish election after the fall-out of the Bute House Agreement.
This shows just how annoyed the Greens are.
Patrick Harvie has just asked: “Who does the First Minister hink he has pleased more with this, Douglas Ross, Fergus Ewing or Alex Salmond, and more to the point which one of them does he think he can rely on for a majority in parliament?”
Huge reaction to that in the chamber.
Mr Yousaf said: “We spoke this morning and I go back to my comments this morning - I do thank Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater for their contribution to government and their contribution to the country.
“I think as a country we can take great pride in what the Bute House Agreement has achieved, but it’s time for the SNP to govern as a minority.
“We can reach out on an issue by issue basis to other parties across the chamber in the best interests of the country and there are many issues we can unite on, such as having all decisions made by the people of Scotland.”
Conservative MSP Liam Kerr is now asking what the impact will be of the government ditching its 2030 climate change target -something that has now led to the Bute House Agreement being scrapped.
Humza Yousaf is using this as an opportunity to attack the UK Conservative government in Westminster.
Liam Kerr MSP says the Greens have stalled the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen. He is now asking if all barriers are removed from dualling the A96 now that the “economically illiterate Greens” have been thrown out of government.
The First Minister now having a go at the Conservatives for their record on climate change and branding them climate deniers - but not directly answering his question on the A96.
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