FM insists he will not resign
Yousaf will fight no-confidence motion but doesn’t rule out election
HUMZA Yousaf has said he will not resign as Scotland’s First Minister after the Tories lodged a motion of no confidence in him. Speaking to the media at a housing development in Dundee, Yousaf said he will not stand down and intends to fight the vote of no confidence in him lodged by Douglas Ross.
It came after the First Minister cancelled a speech he was due to give on independence at the University of Strathclyde in the week of ending the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens on Thursday.
Yousaf also insisted he is not ruling out an early Holyrood election as he looks to survive two no-confidence votes in the Scottish Parliament. He also urged the Scottish Greens not to support a Conservative bid to bring him down as First Minister.
The Scots Tories first announced a no-confidence vote in Yousaf as First Minister on Thursday. If it passes, Yousaf would be under immense pressure but there would be no legal obligation for him to step down.
Yesterday, Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar said he would lodge a motion of no confidence in the Scottish Government. If this succeeds, Yousaf and all of his ministers would be obliged to resign under the Scotland Act 1998, which established the Holyrood parliament.
If a new first minister is not named within 28 days, then an early Holyrood
election is triggered. Speaking to Channel 4 yesterday, Yousaf insisted he would continue as First Minister if he won the no-confidence votes, even if only by a single MSP.
However, he said he was not ruling out an early Holyrood election. He said: “We’ve got a General Election this year. We’re ready, prepared, in good fighting condition for that General Election. I wish it was sooner rather than, it seems like it will be later.”
Pressed on whether the SNP would fight an early Holyrood election, Yousaf went on: “I certainly wouldn’t rule out an election.
“I’m intending to win the vote of no confidence, but I wouldn’t rule out a Holyrood election. We’re on an election footing and we’re prepared if that’s required.”
The next Scottish parliament election is due to take place in 2026. Recent polling has suggested it could be a tight race between the SNP and Labour, although Yousaf’s party tend to hold a slight advantage.
The dramatic rhetoric follows Yousaf terminating, with immediate effect, the powersharing deal the SNP had with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood for almost three years.
The move left his partners so angry they announced they would vote against the First Minister in a vote of no confidence in his leadership tabled by the Tories, which is expected to be debated and voted on next week.
Yousaf has urged the Greens not to support the Conservative motion, insisting the SNP and Greens still have many shared priorities.
With the SNP also repeatedly refusing to work with the Alba Party, The National asked the First Minister what this week’s chain of events says to the independence movement.
He said: “I think it’s a good point to make. I would say to our colleagues