Humza Yousaf ‘to quit as Scottish first minister’

The SNP leader will quit his role today, according to reports.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf will announce his resignation today rather than face two votes of no confidence this week, according to reports.

The SNP leader has seen his authority crumble in the days since he decided to withdraw his government from a political partnership with the Scottish Greens.

He has now decided to call time on his leadership, according to BBC News.

Within hours of the first minister’s announcement on April 25 – which brought an end to a complicated alliance between the two independence-supporting parties – the Conservatives had tabled a vote of no confidence.

Still smarting from the bitter break-up, the Greens said they would not lend Mr Yousaf their backing if the vote went ahead.

On the Radio 4 Today programme this morning, co-leader Patrick Harvie reiterated that his party had not changed its position.

He said: ‘I don’t think Humza Yousaf any more is in a position to be able to lead.

‘I don’t think there is anything that Humza Yousaf will be able to say to restore the trust he has broken.’

With his erstwhile partners giving him the thumbs down, Mr Yousaf was left needing a single MSP from a party other than the SNP to back his leadership.

In a spectacular twist of fate, that MSP was Ash Regan, who had fought against the now-first minister in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader following her shock resignation in February 2023.

After losing, Ms Regan defected to Alba, the party led by former first minister Alex Salmond which is largely populated by independence supporters upset about the SNP’s direction on policies such as trans rights.

She and Mr Salmond reportedly asked Mr Yousaf to make concessions on SNP policy in exchange for their support.

To add to the first minister’s woes, Scottish Labour tabled an additional vote of no confidence in the entire government on Friday.

Who could be the next SNP leader?

When Nicola Sturgeon stepped down in February last year, it was widely accepted that Mr Yousaf was the ‘continuity candidate’ to secure her legacy.

The current picture is more complicated – his potential successors as SNP leader are considerably less high-profile than he was at the time of his appointment.

Among them are Neil Gray, an Orkney-born MSP who took over Mr Yousaf’s old remit of health two months ago when he was made Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care.

He has only been in the Scottish Parliament for three years, though he had previously served as an MP between 2015 and 2016.

Alternatively, the party could choose Jenny Gilruth, the current Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

A former teacher, she once taught Modern Studies at high schools in Edinburgh and Dunfermline.

The SNP may decide to appoint the woman who Mr Yousaf narrowly beat to the role: former finance secretary Kate Forbes.

She stepped back from frontline politics in the aftermath of her defeat though, so it is unclear if she would be keen to step back into the spotlight.

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