By Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday after the collapse of his power-sharing agreement with the country’s Green Party.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Yousaf was facing a vote of no confidence that he was not expected to survive, after he broke off the agreement with the Green Party last week.
“In ending the Bute House agreement in the manner I did, I clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset I caused Green colleagues. For a minority government to be able to govern effectively and efficiently, trust in working with the opposition is clearly fundamental,” he said in a press conference Monday.
He said he had “concluded that repairing relationships across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” adding he was not “willing to trade my values and principles or deals with whoever simply for retaining power.”
Yousaf said he had asked the SNP to hold a leadership contest as soon as possible and would remain in post until a new leader is appointed. He will stay on as a backbencher — a politician without a government post.
The first person of color to lead Scotland, Yousaf said it was an “honour” and “privilege” to serve as first minister.
“People that looked like me were not in positions of political influence” during his childhood, he said.
His decision to end the SNP’s formal partnership with the Greens, in the hope that the SNP would rule as a minority government with their backing on some issues, was strongly criticized by Green Party members.
The parties had clashed in recent weeks, after the SNP said it would scrap current annual and interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, replacing them with a five-year system, according to the BBC.
Scottish politicians are also embroiled in debates over a new hate crime law and proposed changes to gender recognition laws, which were blocked by Westminster.
The SNP, which failed to win a majority in the 2021 Holyrood elections, faces an electoral threat from the Labour party in U.K.-wide elections due to be held at some point this year.
Under the U.K.’s devolved government system, the Scottish Parliament has control over domestic policy in areas including the economy, education, health, justice, housing and the environment.
The Scottish National Party wants to break away from the U.K. A referendum on Scottish independence was held in 2014, when the measure was voted down. SNP members argue another poll should be held, particularly because Scotland voted against leaving the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum. The U.K. officially left the EU in 2020.
Yousaf has served as Scotland’s first minister for a little over a year, taking over from longstanding leader Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her surprise resignation in February 2023.
Sturgeon has been investigated by police as part of a probe into party finances. Her husband Peter Murrell was charged with embezzlement earlier this month.
