After 13 months in office, Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf has announced his resignation. The chairman of the independence party SNP is thus forestalling a vote of no confidence in the regional parliament. The 39-year-old said on Monday in Edinburgh that he wanted to remain in office until a successor was chosen.
His Scottish National Party (SNP) no longer had a majority in the regional parliament following breaking government cooperation with the Greens last Thursday. The opposition then announced votes of no confidence once morest the “First Minister” and his government. The Greens accused Yousaf of destroying trust. The outgoing head of government apologized for this. He underestimated the pain of this decision. Yousaf expressed confidence that his successor would successfully lead a minority government.
The SNP must now propose a new First Minister. The candidates are former government deputy John Swinney and MP Kate Forbes, who narrowly lost the internal party vote to Yousaf in March 2023. Health Minister Neil Gray and Education Minister Jenny Gilruth were also named. If parliament does not vote for a new head of government within 28 days, an early election will be held. Opposition parties called for an immediate vote.
Image: ANDY BUCHANAN (AFP)
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Image: ANDY BUCHANAN (AFP)
Yousaf appeared emotional as he thanked his wife and family for their support. He came into office at the end of March 2023 following the resignation of long-time Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon. He had been health minister under Sturgeon and was considered her confidant.
Since he took office, the SNP has suffered several setbacks. A liberal gender law, which was also controversial within the SNP, was vetoed by the British central government. There is also a financial affair. Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell, who was once SNP general secretary responsible for party finances, was recently charged with embezzlement.
On Thursday, Yousaf stopped working with the Greens, who also support independence from Great Britain and held two cabinet positions. The reason was, among other things, a dispute over the watering down of Scotland’s climate targets.
This article was updated at 1:46 p.m.
