Humza Yousaf Steps Down as Scotland’s First Minister After One Year in Office

Scotland is on the lookout for a new first minister as Humza Yousaf announces his resignation from the role, on Monday, April 29, 2024.

Yousaf arrived at this decision after taking the weekend to consider what was best for the SNP, the government, and Scotland as a whole.

Feeling that it was necessary to “repair our relationship across the political divide,” Yousaf concluded that someone else should take the reins.

Two potential successors being discussed within the SNP are John Swinney and Kate Forbes.

Swinney, a seasoned politician within the party, previously served as its leader at the turn of the century. Forbes, on the other hand, contested the SNP leadership alongside Yousaf just over a year ago.

Nominations for Yousaf’s replacement opened just before midnight on Monday and will close at noon on May 6th, according to SNP national secretary Lorna Finn’s social media post.

Yousaf’s decision to step down as Scotland’s first minister follows the collapse of the SNP’s power-sharing agreement with the Greens.

His abrupt termination of the agreement, just 48 hours after expressing no intention to do so, angered the Greens and left him struggling to maintain enough support to lead a minority government.

Facing two votes of no confidence later in the week, Yousaf acknowledged uncertainty about winning them, especially with the Greens indicating their intent to remove him as first minister.

Despite expressing confidence on Friday, April 26 that he would survive the confidence votes and lead the SNP into future elections, Yousaf admitted his resignation in light of the hurt caused to the Greens by the manner in which he ended the agreement.

In his statement at his official residence in Bute House, Edinburgh, Yousaf acknowledged underestimating the impact of his actions and declared his intention to step down as party leader.

He said: “After spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government and for the country I lead, I’ve 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.”

Yousaf’s resignation comes just 13 months after he narrowly won the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, defeating Kate Forbes in a closely contested leadership race. He made history as the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government in the UK and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.