The SNP is by far the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament, but it does not have an outright majority, and so it entered into a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Green Party in the summer of 2021, known as the Bute House Agreement.

There had been growing tensions between the two, and then last week the Scottish Greens confirmed that members would vote on whether their party should remain in power with the SNP.

That came just a day after the SNP-Green government in Edinburgh confirmed it would scrap its annual and interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The SNP said the targets were out of reach, but some in the Greens reacted angrily.

First Minister Humza Yousaf called an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday, and his party scrapped the power-sharing deal with the Greens.

The Greens said they had been let down on a number of issues and accused him of bowing to “the most reactionary and backwards-looking forces” in his party.

Yousaf said power-sharing had produced a number of successes, but the “balance has shifted” and a new arrangement is needed.

In theory, the SNP can continue running Holyrood with a minority government, but Yousaf needs at least half the MSPs to support him in any confidence motion - and even if all his MSPs back him, that still leaves him one short.

The vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf is expected to be tight, meaning the vote of Alba MSP Ash Regan could be crucial.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader, Meghan Gallacher says her party had not held discussions with Regan but adds that is she is "serious" about issues such as gender reform and women's rights, both of which the Alba MSP has been outspoken on, she will back the vote.

She said: "That would be my argument to Ash Regan, does she want a nationalist government that is going to continue pedalling issues that do not stand up for the rights of women and children?

"Or does she want to support him [Humza Yousaf] and the efforts they [the Scottish government] have made to weaken that".

Labour ups the ante with no confidence motionpublished at 10:51 British Summer Time 26 April

10:51 BST 26 April

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The Scottish Labour Party has upped the ante and tabled a motion of no confidence in the entire Scottish government.

The party leader Anas Sarwar says removing First Minister Humza Yousaf alone will not be enough.

He says: “We need to get rid of the entire SNP government which has left almost 1 in 6 Scots on an NHS waiting list, public finances in chaos and public services at breaking point.

“The people of Scotland deserve a fresh start – this can only come with a Scottish election.”

Motions of no confidence require the signatures of at least 25 MSPs to be debated.

The Conservative motion regarding Humza Yousaf has already met that threshold and is set to be debated on either Wednesday or Thursday next week.

That vote is not legally binding, though privately government advisers acknowledge it would be politically untenable to carry on having lost the backing of parliament.

However, a motion of no confidence in the government is legally binding. And a simple majority of votes in favour of it would be enough to bring the government down.

The Scottish Parliament would then have 28 days to elect a new first minister.

If it is unable to do that then parliament would need to be dissolved and an election called.

Fergus Mutch, the former head of SNP communications, said he was "struck" by Humza Yousaf's tone during Thursday's First Minister's Questions, and that he was "bullish"

Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Scotland Programme, he said: "They should have parted with the Greens on slightly better terms, you obviously saw the reaction of Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie, they were absolutely livid at the way SNP went about this."

Her added that he was "struck" at the first minister's tone and he wasn’t acting like he now leads a minority government.

"He was quite bullish, quite imperious and actually I don’t think that got this new era of the Humza Yousaf premiership off to the right sort of start if I’m honest."

Mutch said that there may need be a slight re-shuffle within the SNP party and suggested it may be "smart politics" to bring he likes of Kate Forbes - who came second in the SNP leadership contest - back into the fold.

Image source, PA Media

Scottish Labour has said it is submitting a motion of no confidence in the entire Scottish government.

That is different from the planned Scottish Tory motion which is directed against the first minister.

The party's leader Anas Sarwar said: "It's a matter now of when, not if, Humza Yousaf will step down as first minister."

He added it would be "untenable for the SNP to assume it can impose another unelected first minister on Scotland" to replace Yousaf if he was to resign.

Sarwar stated: "Scottish Labour has no confidence in Humza Yousaf or this SNP government, that is why we are laying a motion today to this effect to say that the parliament has no confidence in the Scottish government."

He also insisted: "It is for the people of Scotland to decide who is first minister, not just a group of SNP members.

"Removing Humza Yousaf alone will not deliver the change we need, we need to get rid of the entire SNP government which has left almost one in six Scots on an NHS waiting list, public finances in chaos and public services at breaking point.

"The people of Scotland deserve a fresh start, this can only come with a Scottish election."

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has cancelled a planned speech as he battles for political survival.

Yousaf was due to speak about the labour strategy in an independent Scotland at Strathclyde University but a source close to the first minister confirmed the event had been called off.

It comes as the Alba Party MSP whose vote could be crucial to Mr Yousaf's future has written to the first minister, setting out demands in exchange for her support.

Ash Regan, a former SNP minister who defected to Alex Salmond's party, said she wants to see progress on Scottish independence and defending "the rights of women and children".

Yousaf is battling to save his position as first minister after his former allies in the Scottish Greens vowed to vote against him in a motion of no confidence which will be tabled by the Scottish Conservatives.

That came after the SNP leader dramatically brought the power-sharing deal with the Greens to an end on Thursday. A tight vote is expected at Holyrood next week.

Separately, Scottish Labour says it is tabling a motion of no-confidence later on Friday in the entire Scottish government.

In general terms, a confidence vote is a formal expression that MSPs do not have confidence in a government minister, the first minister, or all Scottish ministers.

So in this case the Tory motion would seek to declare Humza Yousaf unfit to hold the office of first minister.

A planned Labour motion would apply to the whole Scottish government.

What happens next?

The first stage to lay a motion of no-confidence requires the support of at least 25 MSPs.

The Scottish Conservatives have 31 MSPs, so that seems guaranteed.

Members are usually given at least two sitting days notice of such a vote.

The Scottish parliamentary bureau won't meet until next Tuesday to schedule next week's business, so it looks like Thursday would be the earliest possible date.

What happens if the vote is passed?

If a majority of MSPs do not have confidence in the first minister, he would be expected to resign - although he is not obliged to do so.

In practice, it would be hard to continue in the role without the backing of parliament.

In the event of Yousaf resigning as first minister, MSPs would have 28 days to elect a replacement.

If they failed to do so, it would lead to an election being called.

How do the numbers stack up?

The SNP have 63 MSPs who can presumably be counted on to support Yousaf and vote against the motion.

The Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems and Greens have 64 MSPs between them who are expected to back the motion.

That would leave Alba's sole MSP Ash Regan with the power to determine the outcome. In such a scenario, if she voted against Yousaf, he would lose 65-63. But if she supported Yousaf, the result would be 64-64, and in the event of a tie the presiding officer casts a deciding vote, which by tradition is always for the status quo - meaning the first minister would win the confidence vote.

The Scottish Labour leader has confirmed his party will table a vote of no confidence vote against the Scottish government.

Speaking to LBC, Anas Sarwar said: "I think it would be completely untenable for the SNP to presume they can impose another unelected first minister on Scotland and that is why Scottish Labour has said already we don’t have confidence in Humza Yousaf.

"But, today we will also be laying a motion before parliament saying the Scottish parliament does not have confidence in this Scottish government."

He added it should be up to the "people of Scotland" to decide who leads the country, rather than a "small group of SNP members."

Will Humza Yousaf reach out to his opponents?published at 10:23 British Summer Time 26 April

10:23 BST 26 April

Georgia Roberts
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Humza Yousaf has cancelled a planned speech at Strathclyde University this morning but will be appearing elsewhere as he – in Westminster leader Stephen Flynn’s words – attempts to “come out fighting” after a perilous 24 hours.

All the chatter remains on next week’s no confidence vote in Holyrood. Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater suggested this morning they could rethink their decision to vote to oust him if the first minister reaches out for talks. He’s yet to do so and the Greens have therefore yet to rethink.

Alba’s sole MSP Ash Regan – who could hold the casting vote on the first minister’s future if all the opposition parties vote against him – has published a letter with her demands.

She touches on her longstanding issues with the Scottish government’s policy on gender and highlights her bill in Holyrood on devolving powers for a second vote on independence.

Senior Alba figures say they need “tangible” commitments – can Humza Yousaf give them?

Maybe Humza Yousaf should not come out fightingpublished at 10:16 British Summer Time 26 April

10:16 BST 26 April

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Humza Yousaf is going to “come out fighting” for his political future, we are told.

But it’s not fighting the first minister needs to do - and perhaps he’s done too much of that already.

Hours after sacking the Greens from his government, Yousaf arrived at Holyrood to dismiss the Conservatives as deserving an electoral “thumping”, Labour as displaying “political cowardice and hypocrisy”, and mocked the Lib Dems for only having four MSPs.

This came after his administration was formed with zero jobs for backers of his leadership rival Kate Forbes, and he waved away Ash Regan as “no great loss” to the SNP when she defected to Alba.

Consider too the way councillors were enraged by the abrupt announcement of a local Council Tax freeze, months after a supposed reset of relations with town hall leaders.

In office, Yousaf does not seem to have been a great builder of bridges.

Thursday’s comments in particular were remarkably bold stuff from a leader who needs votes from opposition members to survive in his job, never mind get legislation through parliament.

In a system essentially designed for minority government and cross-party work, ministers reaching out to others to do a deal should be fairly standard practice.

But in the context of a looming confidence vote, it will be easy to paint Yousaf as having to go cap in hand to those he has very recently scorned.

The first minister embarked on this shake-up in a bid to look strong. But all the fighting spirit in the world won’t change the fact that his future is not in his own hands.

Yesterday was a turbulent day in Scottish politics.

The first signs came on a quiet and sunny Edinburgh street after 08:00 as Green party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater left the first minister's official residence, Bute House.

Humza Yousaf, Scotland's first minister and SNP party leader, then announced that the "groundbreaking" power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens had been terminated with immediate effect.

Yousaf defended the achievements of the power-sharing agreement while the opposition labelled him a "lame duck first minister".

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross announced his intention to lodge a vote of no confidence against the first minister, while Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for a Holyrood election.

Green party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, who started the day as Scottish government ministers, said Yousaf's decisions "can't come without consequences" and the Scottish Greens would "support a vote of no confidence in the first minister".

That vote is expected to take place next week.

The timings are not yet certain, but it is likely the Scottish Conservatives will call a vote of no confidence that it will be held next week, possibly on Wednesday or Thursday.

The Tories will need 65 of the 129 MSPs to support their motion - the SNP have 63 MSPs

The Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems - who have 58 MSPs between them - have all indicated they will vote against the first minister.

The Scottish Greens said on Thursday their seven MSPs would also back the motion - but co-leader Lorna Slater has since hinted there may be room for negotiation.

If the Greens vote against Yousaf, the outcome is likely to rest on vote of the sole Alba MSP Ash Regan.

Her vote could produce the 64-64 tie Yousaf would need, because in that scenario, the presiding officer casts a deciding vote, which by tradition is always for the status quo - meaning the first minister would win the confidence vote.

"I do believe Douglas Ross would be a far better first minister than Humza Yousaf," the Scottish Conservative deputy leader said.

The Scottish Conservative's currently hold 31 seats in the Scottish Parliament.

When asked if it would be democratic for Ross to become FM without an election, Meghan Gallacher told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "Humza Yousaf also became first minister without an election."

She added: "We [would] relish an election because there will be seats right up and down the country that will be a straight fight between us and the SNP."

The Scottish Conservatives' deputy leader Meghan Gallacher says Humza Yousaf is "unfit" to govern, adding: "It is now time to bring his nationalist government to an end".

Her party has tabled a vote of no confidence, which could be voted on in the Scottish Parliament next Wednesday or Thursday.

Speaking on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland she said: "Humza Yousaf is a weak leader and the coalition of chaos that was propping him up has exactly ended in chaos.

Humza Yousaf has cancelled a speech he was due to deliver on independence in Glasgow this lunchtime.

The speech at the University of Strathclyde was the second in a series of speeches outlining the Scottish government’s ambition for a more productive economy.

He was also due to take part in a Q&A session and take questions from the press.

But a source close to the first minister confirmed the event had been cancelled.

Lorna Slater has said the Scottish Greens were "the glue" providing stability to the Scottish government.

“The first minister decided to end the Bute House agreement very suddenly. Even 48-hours before he was saying the Bute House agreement was worth its weight in gold and take a very different tag," she told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland.

“We had been a very stable progressive government. As things unravel rapidly, I think it will become clear that the Greens were the glue holding stable governance together in Scotland.

“Whether he can hold a government together now, I don’t know."

The Alba Party MSP whose vote could be crucial to Humza Yousaf's political future has published the letter she sent to the first minister with a list of demands to ensure her support.

She said: "Independence for Scotland, protecting the dignity, safety and rights of women and children - and providing a competent government for our people and businesses across Scotland remain my priorities."

Ash Regan is a former SNP leadership rival, who had earlier resigned as a minister in Nicola Sturgeon's government in protest at attempts to make it easier to legally change gender.

She later left the SNP and joined Alex Salmond's Alba party.

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme that she was more "disappointed" than angry about the ending of the power-sharing agreement with the SNP.

Ms Slater was asked if the party could change its mind and vote to keep Humza Yousaf as first minister when a no confidence vote is held.

She said the Greens' parliamentary group had decided yesterday that it would not support the first minister and would back the motion of no confidence.

But she added: "We could have that conversation again.

"Nobody has reached out to us in any way to try and change our minds so we’ll have to see how events develop.”

Image source, Getty Images

Stephen Flynn suggested he would not stand to be the SNP leader if Humza Yousaf were to resign.

The SNP Westminster leader told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I have been asked this question previously the last time there was a leadership contest in the Scottish National Party, and I was very clear in my view that I believe that the party leader should have the ability to be the First Minister of Scotland.

"I have not been dissuaded from that view since I made those comments well over a year ago, but the most important thing for me here is to get on with the job of supporting the First Minister over the coming days as he fights back and he wins this vote of no confidence next week."

Pressed about whether he would stand, Mr Flynn added: "Of course, implicit in my answer is the fact that I believe that the party leader should have the ability to be First Minister of Scotland. As you and all your listeners know I am a Member of Parliament in Westminster, I do not have the ability to be the First Minister of Scotland, so I am sure people can read between the lines in that regard."

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn defended First Minister Humza Yousaf as a "man of profound integrity", saying he expects there to be discussions with the Scottish Green Party.

The Aberdeen South MP told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland that he had spoken to Yousaf on Thursday night, adding: "Humza Yousaf is a man of profound integrity.

"I had a conversation with Humza last night after both our kids were put to bed.

"He was reflective, but he was also very clear to me that he's going to come out fighting because he believes in what he says. He believes in delivering for the people for Scotland."

Mr Flynn added: "I would simply say to politicians from across the political spectrum that now is the time for cool heads, calm words, to reflect and to think about the consequences of their actions."