Yousaf reaches out to opponents ahead of no confidence votes

Humza Yousaf has written to Scotland’s opposition parties asking them to find “common ground” ahead of confidence votes in his leadership.

The first minister is facing a serious challenge at Holyrood following the collapse of the SNP government’s power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.

But his appeal was immediately rejected by the Scottish Conservatives as "humiliating and embarrassing" while Scottish Labour said it was an "act of desperation".

On Saturday Mr Yousaf also said the turmoil could lead to an early Scottish election.

During a walkabout in Fife, he again insisted he had no intention of resigning.

Asked if a Holyrood election was possible, he told Sky News: "Can't rule it out."

Elections for the Scottish Parliament are normally held after a fixed five-year term, with the next one due by May 2026.

The political upheaval began on Thursday when Mr Yousaf abruptly ended the power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens, known as the Bute House Agreement, which his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon signed in 2021.

The decision led to angry recriminations from the Greens who later said they would back a motion of no-confidence in the first minister, put forward by the Scottish Conservatives.

Scottish Labour tabled a separate motion of no confidence on Friday, this one in the entire Scottish government rather than just Mr Yousaf.

That would force the resignation of all ministers if passed, while the Tory motion does not oblige Mr Yousaf to stand down if carried.

Letters inviting the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, the Greens, the Lib Dems and Alba for talks at Bute House were sent on Friday night.

Mr Yousaf called for “constructive contribution” while acknowledging “strong feelings” remain in the lead up to next week’s ballots.

He wrote: “Each group within the parliament must contribute constructively, and I believe Scotland's people want to see their political parties work together where and when they can, building consensus for the common good.”

“I recognise the strong feelings in relation to the confidence debate our parliament is set to have next week.

"Notwithstanding that, I am writing to all Holyrood party groups to ask them to meet me next week, in separate meetings, to discuss their concerns and indeed priorities, in a hopefully constructive spirit."

Price for support

The SNP have 63 MSPs in the 129-seat Scottish Parliament and now have to rule as a minority government.

If the Greens vote with Labour, the Tories and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Mr Yousaf would require the support of former leadership rival Ash Regan to survive the no-confidence votes.

Ms Regan, a vocal critic of the Bute House Agreement and the Scottish government’s position on trans rights, defected from the SNP to the Alba party last October.

At the time, Mr Yousaf described her departure from the SNP as “no great loss”.

Alba, founded by former first minister Alex Salmond, said its national executive committee would meet over the weekend to discuss issues Ms Regan will seek “movement” on ahead of negotiations.

Ms Regan told the BBC on Friday she had not spoken to Mr Yousaf since last year's contest and was still considering how to cast her vote.

She said the price for her support would be progress towards independence, protection of the rights of women and children, "competent governance" and action to prevent the closure of the Grangemouth refinery.

After receiving his letter from the first minister, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross described it as "humiliating and embarrassing".

He accused the SNP and the Greens of "spectacularly mismanaging" Scotland's public services during the agreement and called on Mr Yousaf to resign.

In a response issued on Saturday, Mr Ross wrote: "His [Mr Yousaf's] belated abandonment of the Bute House Agreement with the toxic Greens – which he was backing just two days before he finally decided to pull the plug – does nothing to undo the immense damage it has caused.

“Humza Yousaf now talks about delivering 'substantial benefits for people, communities and businesses right across the country', and only wants to discuss 'concerns and priorities' now that his job is on the line.

“It is his abject failure to have prioritised these issues that has led to a complete lack of confidence in his leadership across the parliament."

Resignation call

Mr Ross added: "He should now accept that his time in power is over, and finally offer his resignation as first minister.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie joked that Mr Yousaf’s letter was the first the party had received from the SNP “in about a decade”.

She described it as “an act of desperation” and called for an early election.

She said: “We will consider the letter and we are prepared to work constructively with anybody.

“But to be frank, this is the first attempt in at least a decade to work constructively between the SNP and anybody else and if they are in such a state of chaos, and they are so incompetent, I would question whether we would want to work with them in their current state.”

Kate Forbes urges loyalty

Kate Forbes has urged pro-independence MSPs to back Mr Yousaf

Another former SNP leadership contender, Kate Forbes, has urged SNP members to rally behind Mr Yousaf ahead of the confidence votes.

Ms Forbes, who came second in the contest, said "everyone who cares about Scotland" should back Mr Yousaf.

Writing in The National, she said: "How we ended up here should be a matter of embarrassment for every parliamentarian in every party."

She said the ditching of "over-ambitious" climate change targets should have led to the partners in government "sitting down to agree a workable plan to achieve them".

"It is easy to be loyal to a party when times are good and the party is ahead in the polls," she wrote in her column in the newspaper.

"But you find out what real leadership is - and what real loyalty looks like - when times are tougher and that is why I will back the SNP and the first minister through next week's fight and I urge everyone in our party and everyone who cares about Scotland to do the same."

Former SNP business minister Ivan McKee said Mr Yousaf would most likely have to resign if he lost the Tory-led vote, even though there is no legal obligation to do so.

He told BBC's Good Morning Scotland: "I don't think there's any doubt about that.

"The vote of confidence, while not legally binding would be a clear indication of the will of the parliament.

"If you lose a vote of no confidence then clearly you don't have the confidence of the parliament.

"But I think, as I said, the first minister's using his political skills to negotiate to make sure that he doesn't lose."

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie told the PA news agency on Friday that it was "pretty clear" that Mr Yousaf was not able to unite the Scottish Parliament.

He said: "He still hasn't really given any clarity on why he made such a dramatic U-turn and broken a promise on which he was elected as first minister.

"So it's very difficult to see how you can have a conversation that leads to a constructive outcome on the basis of that lack of trust."

In a radio interview on Friday, Green MSP Gillian Mackay became tearful while describing how "upset" she was by the ending of the agreement.

She told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme that she had friends in government who were also "hurt" by the breakdown in relations.

She said: "We have had two-and-a-half years of working really well together.

"It's really sad that that has all been undone by one person."

Mr Yousaf cancelled an appearance in Glasgow on Friday, but later announced his first minority government policy at a housing development in Dundee.

He pledged an uplift of £80m for affordable housing over two years, raising the budget for affordable housing supply to £600m in 2024/25.

He remained adamant that he "fully intended" to win the confidence votes.

He also said he would "absolutely" lead the SNP into the general election and the 2026 Holyrood election.