Humza Yousaf has announced that he is stepping down as Scotland’s first minister, just over a year after he was elected. He had been battling for his political survival and was facing a vote of no-confidence after unilaterally terminating the powersharing deal between the Scottish National party and Scottish Greens last week.
What happens next?
The SNP is facing its second shock leadership crisis in less than 18 months, after 20 years of stability and seamless transitions.
Yousaf has said that he will stay in place until a new party leader can be found, following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation route. When she held a similar press conference last February at Bute House, the official Edinburgh residence of Scottish first ministers, she announced it was her intention to step down, but only submitted her formal resignation as first minister to the king after the conclusion of the SNP’s leadership election, which took six weeks.
Yousaf said he had asked the SNP’s national secretary to commence a leadership election “as soon as possible”. He said he would remain in post until his successor was elected to ensure a “smooth and orderly transition”. Shortly after Yousaf’s statement, the SNP confirmed there would be a meeting of its national executive committee to decide the timetable of the leadership election later this week.
Greens have said that they’re looking forward to negotiating a new agreement with the SNP once they’ve selected a new leader (providing they select one who will negotiate with them, of course). With that in mind, the Greens may be willing to avoid Labour’s VONC on the basis that they want to give the SNP a chance to select their new leader first.