Following John Swinney’s appointment as the new leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Humza Yousaf has resigned from his position as Scotland’s first minister. It is expected that Swinney, who was previously the deputy first minister, will take over the role. In his letter of resignation to King Charles, Yousaf stated that his resignation would come into effect at the start of parliamentary business on Tuesday.
Although Mr Yousaf did not give a reason for his resignation, last week he admitted he had “paid the price” for ending the power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens. Yousaf, who was appointed as Scotland’s first minister last March following a narrow win over ex-finance secretary Kate Forbes in the SNP leadership contest, faced multiple challenges during his tenure, which included police investigation into SNP finances, Michael Matheson’s £11,000 data bill, and the shelving of the gender recognition reforms.
Yousaf’s leadership came to an end after the termination of the power-sharing Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens, which left the SNP with a minority in parliament. He was also facing a motion of no confidence in him and his government. In his resignation speech, he expressed regret for underestimating the impact of ending the agreement had caused the Greens.
John Swinney, the only candidate to replace Yousaf as new SNP leader, has pledged to lead a “moderate centre-left” minority government. However, he has also stated that he has no intention of reinstating the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens
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