Yousaf’s Decision to Support No Confidence Motion in Me is a ‘Poor Choice’ for Greens
The First Minister’s comments were made as the Alba Party conducted an emergency meeting to discuss the next steps.
Humza Yousaf expressed his concern that it would not be wise for the Scottish Greens to support the motion of no confidence in him. He wrote to the leaders of Scotland’s political parties seeking common ground.
This development coincided with the Alba Party holding an urgent meeting to chart a path forward, given that their sole MSP, Ash Regan, could play a crucial role in determining Mr. Yousaf’s fate.
The First Minister is striving to mend relationships with the other political leaders at Holyrood by inviting them to discussions at his official residence. He aims to have separate meetings with each group at Bute House in Edinburgh to explore ways they can contribute constructively, recognizing the strong sentiments surrounding the impending confidence votes.
On Friday night, letters were dispatched to the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Greens, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Alba Party.
Mr. Yousaf ended the power-sharing agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens on Thursday, prompting the smaller pro-independence party to announce their support for the motion of no confidence in his leadership.
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In an interview with Sky News on Saturday, Mr. Yousaf expressed his hope of soon hearing from the other Holyrood leaders.
He was questioned about Ms. Regan’s potential critical role in his political survival due to the lack of support from the Greens.
He remarked, “That would be really disappointing if that is the Greens’ position. As I say, I’ve reached out to them, they are saying publicly that they’re going to support a Conservative motion against a First Minister, an independence government. I think that would be, I think, a poor choice to make. So of course I have written to Ash Regan, as well. I look forward to speaking to her too.”
The leadership body of the pro-independence Alba Party, headed by former first minister Alex Salmond, is convening for an emergency meeting over the weekend to define the key areas of concern for which Ms. Regan will seek progress.
In his letters, Mr. Yousaf highlighted the success of past minority administrations in the Scottish Parliament that delivered benefits for people, communities, and businesses.
He acknowledged the strong sentiments surrounding the upcoming confidence debate in parliament and appealed to all Holyrood party groups to meet with him next week in separate meetings to discuss their concerns and priorities in a constructive manner.
The sessions at Bute House would aim to address issues and identify common ground, he stated.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who initiated the motion of no confidence in Mr. Yousaf, indicated a reluctance for compromise.
Mr. Ross commented, “This is a humiliating and embarrassing letter, in which Humza Yousaf is begging to be allowed to keep his job. His belated abandonment of the Bute House Agreement with the toxic Greens—which he was backing just two days before he finally decided to pull the plug—does nothing to undo the immense damage it has caused. Our NHS, schools, police, and public services have all been profoundly hit by the spectacular mismanagement of the SNP–Green government under his leadership, and his last-minute U-turn offers nothing to repair that.”
The Scottish Greens stated that they would formally respond to the first minister in due course, maintaining their unchanged position.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie expressed doubts about Mr. Yousaf’s ability to unify Holyrood, urging the SNP to contemplate finding a replacement for him.
There has been no response yet from the leaders of other parties to the letters.
On Friday, Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar expressed that Humza Yousaf is running out of time and urged a change, citing a chaotic and divided political party and an incompetent government failing the people of Scotland.
On Saturday, Mr. Yousaf’s former leadership competitor Kate Forbes urged colleagues to support him in the forthcoming no-confidence votes, deeming recent events as embarrassing for all parliamentarians in all parties.
Given the tight parliamentary numbers at Holyrood, the vote of Alba Party Holyrood leader—and former SNP MSP—Ms. Regan could be pivotal to Mr. Yousaf’s political survival.
In a BBC interview on Friday, Ms. Regan indicated she had not interacted with Mr. Yousaf since the leadership contest last year. She is still deliberating on how to cast her vote.
She observed, “I think that potentially some of the things he said about me when I left to go to a different political party last year probably shows that it’s always wise to have that level of professional courtesy to people that you work with.”
Last October, Mr. Yousaf had remarked that Ms. Regan’s defection to Alba was “no great loss.”
