Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, resigned on Monday after just 13 months in office following a series of muddled progressive policies that culminated in him torpedoing his own governing coalition.
Yousaf, who became the first Muslim leader of a Western democracy, stepped down on Monday after his decision to rip up an agreement between his Scottish National Party and the Green Party, known as the Bute House Agreement, cost him a working majority.
Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater said that Yousaf’s decision to stop the agreement was a “spectacular breach of trust.”
In the aftermath of Yousaf’s decision, a vote of no confidence was called for this week. And although he gave no indications he would resign last Friday, he changed his mind over the weekend.
“I’ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” an emotional Yousaf said Monday during his resignation speech in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital.
“I have therefore informed the SNP’s national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader.”
Humza Yousaf confirms he is quitting as Scotland’s first minister, triggering leadership race
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Furthermore, he paid tribute to his family and said politics can be a “brutal business.”
Yousaf’s tenure as leader of the pro-independence party has included multiple obstacles and controversial policies.
He became leader of the SNP and first minister in March 2023 after longtime party leader Nicola Sturgeon stepped down. Her resignation came during a police investigation into alleged misuse of campaign funds. Her husband, former SNP treasurer Peter Murrell, was charged with embezzlement earlier this month, while Sturgeon herself was questioned and released without charge last year. Both deny any wrongdoing.
Yousaf’s short-lived tenure will be remembered, however, for controversial legislation that would make it easier for people to change their gender, which was at odds with the Conservative-led Westminster government.
His party also introduced a hate crime law that made transgender identity a protected characteristic. The law generated criticism from the likes of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, and even X owner Elon Musk.
In the end, Yousaf’s tenure was made untenable after he scrapped the Bute deal with the Greens over climate change policy disagreements.
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives who tabled the motion of no confidence, told STV that Yousaf was “forced … out of office for repeatedly failing Scotland.”
He added: “There is no doubt that he wanted to continue as First Minister to continue with his reckless policies that have damaged Scotland.
“But facing a vote of no confidence brought forward by the Scottish Conservatives, he looked on course to be defeated and he has jumped before he was pushed.”
Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, said: “The SNP are a divided party which is out of ideas and incapable of rising to the challenges Scotland faces.”
Keir Starmer, the leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party, told the BBC: “I despair of the situation in Scotland. It’s absolute chaos now from the Scottish Parliament from the SNP.”
Yousaf will stay on as leader until a successor can be elected. If the SNP cannot agree on a new leader within 28 days, an emergency general election will be triggered. The SNP has been the party of power in Scotland since 2007, sometimes in a coalition and sometimes with an outright majority.
