A vote of no confidence against Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has been introduced to take place next week by the Scottish Labour Party.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar announced earlier today that the party “will also be laying a motion before parliament saying the Scottish parliament does not have confidence in this Scottish government.”
The motion has been backed by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and Greens.
This comes directly after Yousaf ended the Bute House power-sharing agreement between the SNP and Greens in the Scottish Parliament that had been in place since 2021 under Nicola Sturgeon. The withdrawal has left the SNP with a two-seat minority government.
Yesterday Yousaf notified Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater that the agreement would end because it “no longer guarantees a stable arrangement in parliament”.
The decision comes after the SNP government rescinded climate targets and paused the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming care, two central issues supported by the Greens.
Yousaf’s decision to end the agreement with the Greens was derided by members of the SNP. Former SNP Communications Director Fergus Mutch said Yousaf’s “bullish” tone contrasted the situation of the minority government.
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie derided Yousaf’s decision as “capitulating to the most reactionary backwards-looking forces in the SNP” and a “total U-turn” from the First Minister’s previous statements on the power-sharing arrangement.
While the First Minister said he hopes the two parties can continue working together informally, the Greens have backed the vote of no confidence.
Ash Regan, former SNP MSP who switched to the Alba party after a failed leadership bid, said her vote will depend on whether Yousaf capitulates on the SNP’s supportive transgender policies. Her vote will be decisive by potentially allowing Yousaf to remain First Minister with a 64 vote tie in the vote of no confidence.
Yousaf said he will not resign despite mounting pressure from opposition parties and is “very confident” about surviving the vote of no confidence.
“First Minister Humza Yousaf (52784069858)” by Scottish Government is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
