Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned Monday, ahead of a no-confidence vote he was facing in parliament after he dissolved a coalition with the Green Party last week and failed to secure a deal that would have given his government a ruling majority.
At a news conference Monday, Yousaf said would also step down as leader of Scotland’s pro-independence National Party (SNP) as soon as a new leader is chosen in a party election.
Yousaf’s governing coalition was put in jeopardy last week when he dissolved an alliance with the Greens over differences on several issues, including climate change goals. He announced last week he was reducing the nation’s carbon emissions goals. The two sides also clashed on gender recognition reforms.
The 39-year-old Yousaf, who served most recently as Scotland’s health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic under former First Minister Nicolai Sturgeon, replaced Sturgeon when she resigned just more than a year ago.
Sturgeon had forged the coalition between the Greens and the SNP in what became known as the Bute House Agreement. It marked the first time the Greens had served in a United Kingdom government. Scotland is part of the United Kingdom but, like Wales and Northern Ireland, has its own semi-autonomous government.
At his news conference Monday in Edinburgh, Yousaf said he stood by his decision to end the cooperation agreement between the SNP and the Greens and seek a minority SNP government.
But he also admitted he “clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset that caused Green colleagues.”
“After spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government and for the country I lead, I’ve concluded that repairing a relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” he said.
The development leaves the once-dominant SNP in a decidedly weakened position. After her resignation in February of 2023, Sturgeon, Scotland’s longest-serving first minister, was arrested in June of last year in connection with a campaign finance investigation. Her departure also revealed deep divisions within the party regarding the far-left views of their coalition partners, the Greens.
Yousaf was facing two separate no-confidence votes, from the Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party — this ahead of U.K.-wide elections expected later this year.
The SNP currently holds 43 of the country’s 59 seats in the U.K. parliament.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
