No confidence vote that could sink Yousaf is on a knife edge
Humza Yousaf’s leadership was unravelling last night as he was warned ditching his coalition of chaos with the Greens was just the ‘beginning of the end’.
In a day of high drama, the SNP leader was accused of dragging his party into ‘absolute chaos’ after unceremoniously ending the powersharing agreement.
It means that the First Minister will now lead a minority government and could face an uphill battle to pass any of his policies through parliament.
The Scottish Conservatives immediately called for a vote of no confidence in Mr Yousaf, which would force him to step down if he loses.
Scottish Labour said it would back anything that undermines Mr Yousaf’s position and demanded a Holyrood election be called.
With only 63 MSPs to count on – the Presiding Officer takes no sides and is listed above as ‘Other’ – the SNP is two short of a majority. Alba defector Ash Regan may be Humza’s only hope
The Scottish Lib Dems also said there were ‘no circumstances’ in which they would offer their support to Mr Yousaf in next week’s vote.
And furious Scottish Greens confirmed they would not back the First Minister after he ended their partnership.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: ‘I can confirm today that on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, I am lodging a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf.
He is a failed First Minister, he is focused on the wrong priorities for Scotland. He [runs a] government in the SNP’s interests and not in Scotland’s interests.
‘He is unfit for office. Shouldn’t this be the end of the road for this weak First Minister?’
He added: ‘Let’s be clear, the Greens never belonged anywhere near the Scottish Government. Humza Yousaf should have ditched this extreme party on day one of their leadership.’
Mr Ross criticised Mr Yousaf for refusing to say why he had changed his mind about supporting the Bute House Agreement (BHA) during the last 48 hours, amid speculation that he pushed the Greens before their party members voted to jump.
He added: ‘There is no defence at all. We said this was a coalition of chaos and it has ended in absolute chaos.
‘Humza Yousaf’s government is in chaos, it has unravelled.
He has abandoned the platform he stood on. He claims it’s now a new beginning but really it’s the beginning of the end. Isn’t Humza Yousaf a lame duck First Minister?’
Labour leader Anas Sarwar attacked Mr Yousaf for his ‘weak’ leadership and accused him of spending weeks defending his ‘discredited government’ only to now perform a humiliating U-turn and abandon the Greens.
He told MSPs: ‘The First Minister is claiming that this is a sign of strength but for once people agree with Lorna Slater: he is “weak, hopeless and untrustworthy”.
The challenges facing our country have never been so great, but Scotland’s government has never been so poor and its leadership has never been so weak.
‘One in seven Scots are stuck on an NHS waiting list as he fails to get a grip of the NHS crisis. Families struggling to make ends meet while this Government wastes public money.
And green jobs going elsewhere while he scraps the Government’s climate target.
‘The people of Scotland can see the SNP have lost their way: weak, divided and incompetent. Putting party before country.’
Referring to the planned vote of no confidence, Mr Sarwar said his party would support anything which states that the parliament does not have confidence in Mr Yousaf’s leadership.
He added: ‘I believe the Scottish people have no confidence in Humza Yousaf and no confidence in this SNP government.
‘The people of Scotland didn’t vote for him to become First Minister. The people of Scotland didn’t vote for this mess and this chaos.
‘It’s time to end this circus and call an election.’
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton told the parliament the SNP leader was ‘ditching things left right, and centre’.
He added: ‘Two clowns have left the clown car but this circus continues.
There are no circumstances in which the Liberal Democrat group will offer support in a confidence vote.’
Mr Yousaf insisted he had shown strong leadership by deciding to off-load the unpopular Greens.
He said: ‘The Conservatives are nothing if not predictable, and here is an opportunity for opposition to show what they are really made of.
Do they want to govern in the national interest, do they want to come together with ideas, do they want to collaborate, or are they going to play, as Douglas Ross has demonstrated, political games?
They will be judged very poorly on that.’
