Humza Yousaf reportedly set to resign as Highland MSPs take centre stage
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First Minister Humza Yousaf is reportedly set to resign after four days of turmoil which has seen the efforts of Highland MSPs come play a central role in national politics.
Reports emerged in the last hour that Mr Yousaf is set to resign as First Minister after two motions of no confidence were laid – one against him personally and a second in the SNP government.
His position became increasingly difficult after the party leaders rejected his offer of talks so he could lead a minority administration after he removed the Greens from the power sharing deal the Bute House Agreement.
Leading the pack is Scottish Conservative in efforts to remove Mr Yousaf is leader Highland MSP and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross. He lodged the motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf hours after the First Minister kicked the Greens out of government.
So with the Greens infuriated and out for revenge, the move by Mr Ross effectively put Mr Yousaf’s position at extreme risk without the support of the former coalition partners.
On Friday the First Minister wrote to the party leaders for talks about “concerns and indeed priorities” and “establish the scope for common ground” which led to the further weakening of his position.
Mr Ross rejected the offer outright, calling the letter seeking cross-party support “humiliating and embarrassing” and lambasting that it took a motion of no confidence for the SNP to seek cooperation in Holyrood.
He wrote to the First Minister: “Your refusal to “discuss concerns and indeed priorities, in a hopefully constructive spirit”, as you put it, is precisely what has led to parliament’s complete loss of confidence in your leadership, and the unravelling of so many of your policies.”
He added: “Now, surely is the moment to accept that your time in office is over and offer your resignation as First Minister.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP followed suit and rejected the offer of talks, saying: “Minority government works on trust, he [Mr Yousad] has none. His priorities are not the people’s priorities and he is clearly only motivated now by political survival. He should resign and call an election.”
While Scottish Labour called for an election, with leader Anas Sarwar saying: “The SNP cannot impose another unelected First Minister on Scotland. The people of Scotland must have a say. It’s time for change.”
And if Mr Yousaf does go then Highland MSP Kate Forbes is considered one of the frontrunners to succeed him. Among the public she is by far the most popular candidate but the question is whether her party would accept her as leader.
It is also whether Ms Forbes would want to go for the job after a bruising SNP leadership campaign which saw her widely criticised over what some saw as her personal views seen as socially conservative.
But the SNP has already chosen a candidate who is closer to the party membership than the membership is to the electorate in Mr Yousaf, and despite working to win over doubters it took just over a year for his administration to hit the rocks.
Will the party look outside itself and take the temperature in the country or would it focus on those within the parliament and party? The question is a serious one because its membership continues to decline.
In February it was reported that the SNP membership has fallen again to less than 70,000 – still the largest by far in Scotland – but down from a peak back in 2019 when it peaked at 125,000.
The Greens in government became an issue for the SNP when long-standing party members and large sections of the public, not least in the Highlands, saw the party’s influence in government as damaging.
Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing single-handedly became the focal point of criticism railing against Greens-originated policies he said were hugely damaging to rural Scotland.
Mr Ewing had laid the ground by persuasively making the case to many in the SNP that the Greens were an electoral liability over failed policies that could hurt the party in seats they must hold in the Highlands and north east.
