Humza Yousaf is considering resigning as Scotland’s first minister rather than face two votes of confidence, according to BBC News reports.
A source close to Mr Yousaf said resignation was now an option but a final decision had not yet been made.
“The clock is ticking,” the source told the BBC on Sunday evening.
Mr Yousaf was left fighting for his survival as Prime Minister after abruptly ending the power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens last Thursday.
- Author, James Cook
- Role, Editor of BBC Scotland
He has reportedly ruled out a deal with Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, and his chance of surviving a vote of no confidence in his leadership now depends on the Scottish Greens.
He needs the support of at least one opposition member at Holyrood to survive the vote, which could take place as early as Wednesday.
The parliamentary bureau, made up of the president and MPs from the main parties, will decide this week on the date of the vote and will normally give two days’ notice.
The abandonment of the deal with the Greens, known as the Bute House agreement, provoked a furious response from his former government partners.
He now faces two motions of no confidence this week, one tabled by the Scottish Conservatives under his own leadership as first minister and another by Scottish Labor which would force his entire government to resign.
The Greens are due to meet later on Monday but have repeatedly ruled out supporting him in the personal vote.
The Scottish Conservatives, Labor and Liberal Democrats have already said they will vote against him.
If nothing changes, the prime minister will have to choose between defeat in a confidence vote or early resignation.
The SNP has 63 MPs in Parliament’s 129 seats, so if all seven Green MPs vote against it, it will depend on the support of the Alba Party’s lone MP, Ash Regan, to continue in office.
This would lead to a 64-64 tie, in which case the presiding officer would have to vote to maintain the status quo.
The motion of no confidence in him is not binding, but if he loses, he would come under intense pressure to resign.
If he lost the government vote, MPs would have 28 days to vote for a new first minister or automatically trigger a Scottish parliamentary election.
Alba, a rival pro-independence party led by former first minister Alex Salmond, has drawn up a list of demands that could persuade Ms Regan to support the prime minister.
At an emergency meeting on Sunday, Alba’s board formally approved Ms Regan’s plan to pursue issues of independence, “women’s rights” and “restoration of competent government” in all negotiations.
Mr Salmond told BBC News he was also looking to move away from the “culture wars” and towards “people’s priorities”, which he said were health, housing, transport, l education and the economy.
He said he expected Ms Regan to speak with Mr Yousaf in the coming days.
But a deal with Mr Salmond’s party is opposed by many SNP members and could open the way to further internal divisions.
A source close to Mr Yousaf told the BBC on Sunday evening “there will be no agreement” with Alba.
The Scottish Government has not confirmed the time of the meetings with opposition figures or even when they will finally take place.
Authority weakened
Two SNP MPs, Stewart McDonald and Pete Wishart, have spoken out publicly against the idea of a deal with Alba.
A senior SNP figure told BBC News it would be intolerable for an SNP leader to be beholden to Mr Salmond, whose estrangement from the party he twice led is a source of bitterness everywhere.
Even if he survived the no-confidence vote, Mr. Yousaf’s authority would be significantly weakened.
In other words, even if Mr Yousaf were able to stay in power with the support of his own MPs and Ms Regan, without a voice elsewhere in the chamber he would struggle to govern.
The BBC has been told that discussions took place between the SNP leadership and the Greens leadership over the weekend, but did not change the Greens’ position.
Former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford also made no apologies on the BBC on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Co-leader Lorna Slater who, along with Patrick Harvie, was dismissed as a minister in Mr Yousaf’s government in a short and “quite muscular” meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence, Bute House, early on Thursday morning, told the Sunday Show on BBC Scotland that the Prime Minister “has lost our confidence and lost our confidence”.
She added: “I can’t imagine anything at this point that would change that position.”
The Greens are due to meet on Monday to decide whether or not to accept Mr Yousaf’s meeting invitation.
They were due to meet next month to decide whether to continue with the power-sharing deal with the SNP after members’ dissatisfaction over gender equality healthcare changes and the abandonment of a key objective when it comes to climate change.
One critic of the Greens’ approach to this issue, among others, is Kate Forbes, the former finance secretary, a social conservative who came close to defeating Mr Yousaf in the party’s leadership race. last year and who could run again if he withdraws.
Ms Forbes insisted this week that she supported Mr Yousaf, but she used similar language to Mr Salmond on “getting back to people’s priorities”, such as creating wealth, improving education and health care repair.
However, these positions are deeply unpopular within the progressive wing of the SNP and it could struggle to unify the party and lead a minority government, especially if it depended on support from the Greens.
Other names proposed to replace Mr Yousaf are Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, Culture Secretary Angus Robertson, Health Secretary Neil Gray and Economy Secretary Màiri McAllan.
With the Greens appearing to hold firm and SNP leaders reluctant to engage with Alba, Mr Yousaf may resign rather than endure the humiliation of losing a confidence vote.
A source close to the prime minister said the end of his term appeared to be approaching and that by sacking the Greens he had gambled and lost.
News Source : www.bbc.com
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