Scottish government survives confidence vote after Hamza Yousaf quits
Al Jazeera
The Scottish National Party expected to pick a new leader to replace outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf.
The Scottish government has survived a confidence vote, giving the Scottish National Party (SNP) a chance to pick a new leader to replace outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Yousaf’s decision to step down as first minister and SNP leader on Monday has thrown the party into chaos and boosted hopes in the United Kingdom’s opposition Labour Party that it can regain Scottish seats to win a national election later this year.
Polls show that Labour is ahead of or level with the SNP in Scotland for the first time in a decade.
Yousaf said he would resign after he ended a coalition with the Green Party. It means the SNP is seeking a third leader in little more than a year, undermining what had once seemed like its iron grip on power in the devolved Scottish government.
While the Greens made Yousaf’s position untenable by withdrawing their confidence in him personally, they voted with the SNP against Wednesday’s vote of no confidence in the Scottish government.
