Scotland\u2019s first minister Humza Yousaf is facing a knife-edge vote of no confidence as opposition parties lined up against him after he collapsed his party\u2019s power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. The Scottish National party leader on Thursday said he would try to govern with a minority administration but will next week have to survive a vote on a motion of no-confidence introduced by the Scottish Conservatives. Scottish Labour and the Greens said they would back the motion against Yousaf, who will need to find support from outside his party to win the vote. Greens co-leader Lorna Slater said her party\u2019s support had been based on the progressive policy programme laid out in the now-ditched Bute House power-sharing agreement. \u201cHis decision today to end that agreement has without doubt called into question the delivery of that programme,\u201d she said, citing policies such as rent controls, a ban on conversion therapy and increased climate action. \u201cIt came with no reassurance that his minority government would continue with these objectives,\u201d Slater added.\u00a0 Yousaf\u2019s SNP has 63 MSPs against the opposition parties\u2019 total of 65. The parliament\u2019s presiding officer would vote for the status quo in the event of a tie. The collapse of the SNP-Greens coalition came after Yousaf last week dumped some of Scotland\u2019s climate targets, sparking fury from his governing partners. At a press conference earlier at Bute House in Edinburgh, the SNP leader said the power-sharing agreement had \u201cserved its purpose\u201d and argued the break would allow his party to govern \u201con our policy terms\u201d. \u201cWe will now step up our ambition, but as a minority government \u2014 that will be tough,\u201d Yousaf said, noting that SNP governments had previously governed without a majority. \u201cWe need to speak to the country with one voice, so today marks a new beginning for the SNP,\u201d he added. Yousaf denied that the decision had exposed the SNP\u2019s weakness and insisted that he had shown \u201cleadership\u201d. The SNP-Greens coalition was formed after the 2021 Holyrood election when the SNP fell short of the 65 seats needed to form a majority.\u00a0 Yousaf on Thursday said \u201cemotions were raw\u201d but pledged to work with the Greens and other opposition parties on legislation. \u00a0 But Slater said that \u201cby ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signalled that when it comes to political co-operation, he can no longer be trusted\u201d. Slater said the SNP had repeatedly let down the Green party\u2019s attempts to introduce a \u201cfairer, greener Scotland\u201d, including in policies on oil and gas and the country\u2019s 2030 emissions reduction targets. Ross called Yousaf \u201cweak\u201d as he pushed forward a motion of no confidence. The motion needs the support of 25 MSPs to go to a vote; Ross\u2019s Conservatives have 31. Disunity within the SNP was exposed this week when a group of six nationalist MSPs, including Kate Forbes, who last year ran against Yousaf for the party\u2019s leadership, rebelled against a justice bill that would pilot judge-only rape trials. However, Forbes on Thursday said she would back Yousaf and believed he would survive the no-confidence vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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