Humza Yousaf Resigns
*Greens in this context refers to Scottish Greens and not the English Greens
The First Minister of Scotland resigned, but why?
The First Minister Humza Yousaf has resigned from his role just a week after ending the Bute House Agreement. The Bute House Agreement was a formal cooperation agreement between the SNP (Yousaf’s party) and the Scottish Greens, as the SNP currently has a minority government in Holyrood.
Why did the Agreement end?
Yousaf ripped up the agreement because of two main issues: gender, and climate change. Gender has dominated Scottish politics as Holyrood passed the controversial Gender Recognition and Reform Bill. The UK government prevented it from becoming law due to the Equality Act 2010. Nevertheless, the Greens were keen on making it legally easier to change gender - but Yousaf gave power to clinicians after the recommendations from the Cass review, allowing them to stop prescribing puberty blockers to children.
Last week, Scotland’s Net Zero Minister announced that the government was ditching their overly ambitious target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030. The Greens were even more enraged at this pledge being dropped.
The Aftermath
Yousaf decided to end the agreement with the Greens for these reasons. They took it badly of course; it was an alliance that had solidified pro-independence support in Scotland. The Greens lent their support to Scottish Conservatives, who tabled a motion of no-confidence in Yousaf as leader of the SNP. And then Scottish Labour tabled a motion of no confidence against the Scottish government. MSP Ash Regan (who defected from SNP to Alba, a party run by former First Minister Alex Salmond) lent her support to the Scottish Conservatives; highlighting the fraction and opposition to Yousaf and his decisions. Many now think that the wiser political decision would have been to put the Bute House Agreement to a vote, so if it was voted against, Yousaf had a democratic reason to end it.
Resignation and Future
In his resignation speech, Yousaf says he would have confidently won the no-confidence votes. In reality, he was struggling to get support for his minority government to continue. He also remarked on how he was the first Muslim to lead a devolved nation, and how the UK had come far in terms of multiculturalism, with a Hindu Indian Prime Minister, and a Black Welsh leader.
The future of the SNP now lies on a leadership election, with Kate Forbes and John Swinney as potential replacements. Forbes went up against Yousaf for the leadership role, and Swinney was former leader as well as Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy.
Another interesting replacement is Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster lead. It is said that he had a role to play in convincing Yousaf to end the Bute House Agreement. If true, it confirms the issue of Westminster interfering in Scottish affairs and raises issues over independence.
All eyes will be on Holyrood as the next leader will be elected soon. We will have to see if the Scottish Greens will come into their plans or not.
*Photo obtained from BBC, all rights reserved #politics #scottishpolitics #holyrood #firstminister #humzayousaf #scottishgreens #johnswinney #nicolasturgeon #stephenflynn #westminster
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