"I clearly underestimated the level of hurt"
Humza Yousaf has announced that he will step down as First Minister and SNP leader, a little over a year after he was elected.
Mr Yousaf was facing two no-confidence votes at Holyrood in the coming days.
He said: “After spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government and for the country I lead I have concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm.
“I have therefore informed the SNP’s national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader and asks that she commences a leadership contest for my replacement as soon as possible.”
Mr Yousaf said he had “underestimated” the level of hurt ending the power-sharing deal with the Greens, which ultimately led to the toppling of his leadership, would have.
While he said it was “the right decision”, he said:
“Unfortunately in ending the Bute House Agreement in the matter I did, I clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset that caused Green colleagues.
“For a minority government to be able to govern effectively trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental.”
He said a route through the no-confidence vote was “absolutely possible”.
But Mr Yousaf added: “I am not willing to trade in my values or principles or do deals with whomever simply for retaining power.”
His resignation comes after he surprisingly axed his governing partnership with the Scottish Green Party.
The Greens angrily responded, announcing that they would support a motion of no confidence in Yousaf’s leadership brought by the Scottish Conservatives.
Without the support of the Greens and with the SNP two votes short of a majority, this left Yousaf reliant Ash Regan’s vote.
Ash Regan defected from the SNP in 2023 to join Alex Salmond’s Alba party in protest at the lack of progress on independence and the Scottish government’s stance on gender recognition reform.
Humza Yousaf ended the Bute House Agreement after increasing criticism within the SNP of Green influence on policy direction.
The Scottish Green party had been planning its own vote on the future of the agreement after members reacted angrily to the scrapping of climate targets and an NHS Scotland decision to pause the prescription of puberty blockers following the publication of the Cass review.
Humza Yousaf has faced a seemingly endless series of challenges since his election, including the ongoing police investigation into party finances that resulted in the arrest of Nicola Sturgeon and her husband being charged with embezzlement.
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