Humza Yousaf resigns RECAP: First Minister steps down after tumultuous week
Recap as Humza Yousaf resigns as First Minister.
Humza Yousaf resigns as First Minister RECAP
Key Events
- Humza Yousaf has resigned as First Minister and SNP leader
- He will stay on as First Minister until a replacement is found
- Humza Yousaf says he underestimated the hurt caused by ending the Bute House Agreement
Jenny Gilruth is tipped to be one of the favourites to replace Humza Yousaf as First Minister - however she now says she will support John Swinney in a leadership bid, hinting that she is ruling herself out.
Rebel SNP backbencher Fergus Ewing, who has already said he will back Kate Forbes in a leadership contest, now says he expects she will run to be the next First Minister.
Speaking to BBC Scotland News, Mr Ewing said Ms Forbes is “less combative than John Swinney” and is better to give the party a “fresh start”.
He says Mr Swinney represents “continuity” and could be seen as the “architect” of the Bute House Agreement which officially brought the Greens into government.
Mr Ewing also says Ms Forbes’s Christian beliefs were a “great thing” but would not influence decisions she would make as First Minister.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has given his backing to John Swinney to take over from Humza Yousaf, saying “serious times demand serious politics and serious politicians”.
Mr Flynn told the PA news agency: “Firstly, I’m incredibly sorry that this has happened. Humza has acted with the utmost integrity and compassion, and with the priorities of the public at the forefront of everything he’s done throughout his time in Bute House. He’s a good man and I’m just very sorry.
“These are, of course, serious times and serious times demand serious politics and serious politicians, and they don’t get much more serious, they don’t get much better than John Swinney.
“I therefore sincerely hope that he can be convinced to run in this race and encouragement from the likes of myself can make that happen.”
Mr Flynn said he had not spoken to Mr Swinney since he bumped into him at a train station last week but would try to call him on Monday evening.
“I, like many others, will try and pick up the phone to him tonight, I imagine his phone is ringing off the hook because this is an important thing,” he said.
“It’s important for the SNP but more importantly it’s important for the public back home. They expect the Government to be focused on their priorities … and I believe John Swinney would be best-placed to take on those challenges.”
A spokesperson for the First Minister has denied claims that Humza Yousaf wanted to do a deal with the Alba Party.
Alba Party leader and former first minister Alex Salmond told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that Mr Yousaf had phoned Alba at around 7.30am, hours before he made his resignation speech.
Mr Salmond said: “The idea that [Humza Yousaf] didn’t want to do a deal with Alba is simply untrue.”
If Mr Yousaf had faced a vote of no confidence in him as First Minister, Alba’s only MSP Ash Regan would have held the deciding vote.
However his spokesperson now says: “Out of courtesy, the First Minister returned a call from Ash Regan this morning in which he confirmed there would not be an electoral pact or deal with Alba.”
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has previously called for a general election following changes made by the UK Government - when asked if there should now be a Scottish election, the Aberdeen South MP said: “The difference between Westminster and Holyrood is that MSPs in Holyrood elect the First Minister.
“Nobody in Westminster elects a Prime Minister, they simply become Prime Minister on the basis of being the leader of the largest party, so there’s an inherent difference between the arguments there.”
Stephen Flynn denies claims he played a key role in Humza Yousaf’s downfall.
Mr Flynn was spotted in Holyrood the day before Mr Yousaf ended the Bute House Agreement, the fall out of which has ended in his resignation.
There were suggestions Mr Flynn was influential in the decision to end the power-sharing deal with the Greens.
However he now says the claims he orchestrated Mr Yousaf’s downfall are “a lie”.
The Aberdeen South MP told the Press Association: “Anyone positing that argument is doing so without the facts in place, it is in effect a lie, it is not true.
“Nobody goes into the First Minister’s house and tells them what to do, let alone me.
“Any individual pushing this argument is overstating my influence and is perhaps overestimating their own abilities politically.
“The reality is that myself and the First Minister, of course, discussed the situation with regards to the Bute House Agreement.
“I believe he made the right choice.
“I was not aware of the plan that was in place - we discussed the pros and the cons.”
Mr Flynn added: “The First Minister has himself said today that he misjudged the response from the Greens and, of course, the plan that was put in place by the First Minister and his advisors has obviously not come to fruition, but that doesn’t mean the decision was wrong - the decision was the right one.”
Former first minister Henry McLeish says Humza Yousaf’s resignation speech was “very dignified”.
Mr Yousaf narrowly misses out on being the shortest-lived First Minister - Mr McLeish only lasted just over a year as First Minister when he resigned back in 2001.
Speaking to BBC Drivetime, Mr McLeish said: “He handled it well - he in a real sense is a very decent person.
“I think he took the right decision at the right moment.
“This will be a dark day for him - resigning is a lonely experience [but] he will start to realise, as a young person in politics, he’s got a life ahead of him, probably a successful political life.”
That’s all from our live blog on the First Minister’s resignation for today - but you can keep up-to-date with everything that is happening on The Scotsman’s politics homepage.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.