Scottish First Minister announces resignation

The First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, announced this Monday his resignation as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP, in its original acronym), continuing to lead the government until a successor is chosen. Decision comes after breaking the coalition with the Greens.

With the aim “of ensuring a harmonious and orderly transition, I intend to continue as Prime Minister until my successor is elected”, said the leader of the Scottish National Party.

“For a minority government to govern effectively and efficiently, trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental,” he said at a press conference.

Yousaf admitted he “clearly underestimated the level of heartbreak and disruption” he caused his Greens party colleagues by ending their coalition with the SNP last week.

The Greens indicated in recent days that they would vote in favor of a motion of no confidence in the prime minister presented by the Conservative Party.

Despite considering that it would be “absolutely possible to overcome this week’s motion of no confidence”, the Scottish First Minister stated: “I am not willing to trade my values ​​and principles, or to make deals with anyone, simply to maintain the power”.

“After spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, the government and the country I lead, I concluded that repairing our relationship in the political debate can only be done with another person at the helm. “, he declared.

Yousaf has been leading the government for just over a year, after becoming the first Muslim to hold the position.

The Scottish Prime Minister initially stated that he intended to remain in office and lead a minority government, but in addition to the motion of no confidence in himself, the Labor Party also announced a motion of no confidence in the government.

Without the support of the Greens, the SNP, which has 63 of the 129 seats in the Holyrood assembly, depended on just one vote from former rival Ash Reagan, of the Alba Party.

Reagan lost the SNP leadership election in 2022 to Yousaf and defected to Alba last year in disagreement with the coalition with the Greens and pro-transgender policies.

Although willing to negotiate, the former Scottish Secretary of State for Community Safety told the BBC station that the two had not spoken for a year and regretted that Yousaf had not shown “professional courtesy” in considering that Reagan’s departure from the SNP was “not a great loss.”

With Lusa