Humza Yousaf considering ‘calling it quits’ as Scotland’s first minister as early as today
Humza Yousaf is considering resigning as Scotland’s first minister as early as today, Sky News understands.
A senior source has said the embattled SNP leader could “call it quits” today ahead of a key vote of no confidence later this week.
Mr Yousaf is facing two no-confidence votes at Holyrood in the coming days after the collapse of his power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens on Thursday.
The 39-year-old, who now runs a minority administration in Edinburgh, sacked the Greens on Thursday and they have joined the opposition in confirming they will vote to oust him.
Talks had been planned with the Alba party, which is led by now-bitter rival Alex Salmond. Its only MSP, Ash Regan – who defected from the SNP last October – was set to cast the deciding vote and determine Mr Yousaf’s future.
The pair had been due to meet this week, with Ms Regan bringing a set of demands as her price of agreement.
Mr Yousaf’s survival during a confidence vote could depend on Alba MSP Ash Regan’s vote. Pic: PA
But, some senior figures within the SNP had said publicly and privately that would be an electoral disaster and seriously harm the nationalist cause.
One MP said it would go down like a “cup of cold sick”.
Mr Yousaf is facing a no-confidence vote on his leadership of Scotland, and a separate motion of no confidence in the entire Scottish government has also been tabled.
Sky News understands Mr Yousaf could now walk on Monday ahead of the vote. However, no final decision has been made.
His tune appears to have changed after he insisted during a walkabout in Fife on Saturday he had no intention of resigning.
Former deputy first minister John Swinney told Sky News the first minister will be speaking publicly on Monday.
“There’s a lot to happen today, and we’ll wait to hear what the first minister’s got to say later on today,” he said without commenting on whether Mr Yousaf will be resigning or not.
A source told Sky News on Monday morning the first minister said Mr Salmond pulling the strings behind the scenes would be “doing a deal with the devil”.
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Alba ‘prepared to assist’ Yousaf
The Alba Party’s Westminster leader, MP Neale Hanvey, told Sky News he thinks Mr Yousaf’s “hand is being forced from within the SNP“.
“It seems that the internal manoeuvrings within the SNP have made it impossible for the first minister to continue,” he said.
“I don’t think he would be even considering resigning if he had the support of his parliamentary group and I think reading between the lines, that’s not something that he can depend on now and that’s possibly why he’s been forced to seriously consider resigning.“
In Westminster, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told Sky News: “It does seem an extraordinary mess that he’s managed to get him and the SNP into. That they are now potentially going to be beholden to Alba.
“If you look at the SNP’s record, their obsession with independence, I’m afraid, has led to very poor outcomes when it comes to health, when it comes to education and a number of other areas.“
Senior Labour MP Ellie Reeves told Sky News there should be an election in Scotland amid the “chaos in the SNP”.
The SNP had been in a power-sharing agreement with the Greens since 2021 which gave the SNP a majority at Holyrood, as without it the party – then led by Nicola Sturgeon – would have had to operate as a minority administration.
But there had been mounting tensions between the two parties, which ended when the government decided to ditch its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 after accepting it is now “out of reach”.
Before that there had been friction over the decision to pause the prescription of new puberty blockers to under-18s at Scotland’s only gender clinic, resulting in the Greens announcing they would have a vote on the future of the power-sharing deal.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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