First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf has announced his resignation, just over a year after he took up the role.
This news comes as Yousaf faced reported threats from across the Scottish government, following his decision to end the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Green Party. As reported by Public Sector Executive last week, the First Minister ended the co-operation agreement with the Scottish Greens over disagreements and uncertainty, before being accused of ‘selling out future generations’ and ‘political cowardice’ by Green Co-leader Lorna Slater.
After the fallout that followed the decision to end the Bute House Agreement, the First Minister stated that any attempts to repair the relationship between the SNP and the opposition would be better done with “someone else at the helm.”
Yousaf’s resignation has come just over a year after he was appointed into the role following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation. Much like his predecessor, Yousaf will remain in place until his replacement is found.
In a statement made at midday today, Yousaf 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 a 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 ask that she commences a leadership contest for my replacement as soon as possible. In order to ensure a smooth and orderly transition, it is my intention to continue as First Minister until my successor has been elected; particularly as parliament will be debating some incredibly important legislation in the coming days and the coming weeks.
“I cannot tell you what an honour it is being the First Minister of the country I love, the country I’m raising my family in, and the only country I will ever call home. As a young boy born and raised in Scotland, I could never have dreamt that one day I would have the privilege of leading my country.”
Image credit: Scottish Government - https://www.gov.scot/
