The Scottish Green Party will join with rival MSPs to back a no confidence motion in First Minister Humza Yousaf next week, after the SNP kicked its coalition partners out of government.
And soon after, the Scottish Conservatives announced it would lodge a vote of no confidence in him, claiming the first minister had “failed” in his role and had “focused on the wrong priorities for Scotland”.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats agreed to back the motion, with its success hanging on whether Green Party MSPs joined the attack to give SNP critics a majority in Holyrood.
But its co-leaders, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, have now confirmed their party they will join forces to condemn Mr Yousaf’s leadership, with Green sources telling Sky News there was serious anger among the ousted party.
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If the vote passes, it will still be up to Mr Yousaf to decide on how to respond. However, it puts increasing pressure on his position if he fails to hold the confidence of the majority of the parliament.
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However, if a no confidence vote was passed on the government, the SNP government would have to resign and appoint a new first minister within 28 days or call an election.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Harvie said: “Humza Yousaf becoming first minister was on the basis of a political cooperation which both parties members signed in good faith, which Humza Yousaf endorsed, and even two days ago was still endorsing.
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“He’s now chosen to end that. That’s his decision and it can’t come without consequences.”
Both he and Ms Slater denied supporting the no confidence vote was “revenge”, but said the first minister’s decision “can’t come without consequences”.
Mr Harvie added: “This is about how we achieve the greatest political change for Scotland.
“Humza Yousef has decided to abandon the vehicle that was delivering that progressive change for Scotland. We think that’s a profound mistake.”
The power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Greens was made in 2021, after Nicola Sturgeon’s party came in just shy of an outright majority in the Holyrood election of the same year.
Both backers of Scottish independence, the deal between the parties – named after the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh – brought the Greens into government for the first time anywhere in the UK, with both Ms Slater and Mr Harvie given ministerial posts.
The Greens were also dismayed at the pause of puberty blockers in the wake of the landmark Cass review of gender services for under-18s in England and Wales.
The party had been expected to hold a vote on the future of the agreement, but before they got a chance, Mr Yousaf summoned his cabinet and announced on Thursday that the deal had “served its purpose”.
The first minister said he hoped to pursue a “less formal” agreement with his former partners and heralded what he called a “new beginning” for the SNP, saying his decision showed “leadership”.
But with the Greens now ready to join those against the SNP, there is a possibility it could instead prompt an end to his premiership.
Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has been named by investigators in Bangladesh who allege she was involved in the illegal allocation of land to members of her family while serving as an MP.
Sky News has obtained an affidavit – or legal written statement – filed by the anti-corruption commission in Bangladesh that accuses Ms Siddiq and others of being involved in fraudulently obtaining plots in the diplomatic zone of a development near to the country’s capital Dhaka.
The document states: “While serving as a Member of the British parliament, it is known that [Ms Siddiq] exerted pressure and influence on her aunt, the former prime minister, to take measures for the allotment of plots in the same project in the names of her mother, Mrs Rehana Siddiq, her sister Ms Azmina Siddiq, and her brother Mr Radwan Mujib Siddiq.”
The director general of the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission Akhtar Hossain told Sky News: “Tulip Siddiq and former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina misused… power to take the plot from the Purbachal New Town Project.”
Investigators allege that planning officials were bribed and pressured into fraudulently allocating land.
A Labour source said Tulip Siddiq totally refutes the claims and had not been contacted by anyone on the matter.
The source also said no evidence had been presented for the allegations.
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Tulip Siddiq is asked if she will step down but gives no indication one way or the other.
Tulip Siddiq had already been named in Bangladeshi court documents, also seen by Sky News, relating to alleged embezzlement from a nuclear power project in the country.
Labour sources suggested the accusations were not genuine.
That court claim was made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Ms Siddiq’s aunt – the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Ms Hasina fled Bangladesh in August and resigned her post amid weeks of deadly protests.
The new government has since accused the previous Awami League administration of crimes and corruption while in office.
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Shadow chancellor calls on PM to sack minister
Tulip Siddiq has come under increasing pressure over her links to her aunt’s political party, with Sky News revealing she boasted about her connections to the Awami League in blog posts from 2008 and 2009.
The anti-corruption minister has also been found to have lived in several London properties with links to alleged allies of her aunt’s regime.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has since called for her to be suspended as a minister.
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has also said Ms Siddiq should step aside from the money laundering and economic crime brief she currently holds.
“The clear conflict of interest surrounding Tulip Siddiq presents a key test for the new government… as anti-corruption experts, it is clear to us that she should not hold responsibility for these sensitive areas in her portfolio”, said Peter Munro, senior coordinator at the anti-corruption coalition.