SNP Scottish first minister quits to avoid expected defeat in no confidence vote – live updates

Humza Yousaf has quit as Scottish first minister in a sensational move to avoid being ousted by his opposition in a no confidence vote.

Mr Yousaf, 39, announced he was stepping down during an address at Bute House, Edinburgh, at midday today, just days before a vote on his leadership was expected.

The SNP leader faced two no confidence votes scheduled by the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour – which the Scottish Greens said they would join to oust him.

The Clydesdale MSP has been tipped as a future leader as she quickly moved up the ranks despite only being elected in 2021.

At the age of 31, Ms McAllan would become the youngest first minister, but her portfolio in Holyrood shows she is already capable of handling a significant brief.

The party’s rising star was given a ministerial post for environment, biodiversity and land reform in May 2021, shortly after being elected.

But, under Humza Yousaf, she quickly ascended to a cabinet post just two years later, taking on the Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition portfolio.

Her brief was widened further in February 2024 after Neil Gray was moved to Health Secretary. She became Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy Secretary.

Ms McAllan announced she was expecting her first child in February 2024, adding she planned to take maternity leave in the summer with a scheduled return for March 2025.

The wealth of experience held by Neil Gray could make him a likely contender for leadership.

He is thought to be the closest ally of Mr Yousaf but may be able to unite Parliament.

He is a former MP and became an MSP in 2021 serving as a culture and international development minister before being promoted to Economy, Fair Work and Energy Secretary around a year later.

He stepped up to become Health Secretary following the resignation of Michael Matheson.

Former teacher Jenny Gilruth represents Mid Fife and Glenrothes and is the current Education Secretary.

Her brief is one of the toughest as she faces pressure to address the increasing issue of violence in schools.

She has also held transport minister briefs and Europe, migration and international development minister.

The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP is perhaps the most likely replacement after she narrowly lost to Mr Yousaf in the fiery leadership contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon just over a year ago.

And as finance secretary under Ms Sturgeon, Ms Forbes has been known to help her government through tough crises, stepping into the role and delivering a budget at short notice after her predecessor, Derek Mackay, resigned in disgrace in 2020.

A Free Church of Scotland member, Ms Forbes’ first run at the leadership was not smooth sailing as her stance on social issues is at odds with many within her own party, particularly her opposition to gender reform.

A key obstacle in her leadership, however, would be the Scottish Greens, they have previously ruled out working with her over her views so it is unlikely she would command the support to effectively rule.

In the last leadership contest, Ms Forbes did not have the backing of most of her own SNP MSPs but did win over a significant number of members, losing the closely-fought leadership election by 47.9 per cent of the vote compared to Mr Yousaf’s 52.1 per cent.

The loyal deputy first minister to Ms Sturgeon could throw his hat in the ring as an SNP MSP with significant experience.

He has been an MSP since the Scottish Parliament’s inception in 1999, serving North Tayside, and previously representing the same constituency at Westminster in 1997.

Mr Swinney previously led his party in Holyrood between 2000 and 2004 during the SNP’s time on the opposition benches.

He has held a raft of cabinet positions, including education and finance and resigned at the same time as Ms Sturgeon.

He also ruled himself out of the 2023 leadership race, stating he had to put his young family first. However, the SNP politician could take the reigns to unite his party in a time of turmoil.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that the situation with Humza Yousaf and the SNP is “absolute chaos” and called for a “fresh start” in Scotland.

“I despair at the situation in Scotland – it’s absolute chaos now from the Scottish parliament, from the SNP. So you’ve got chaos in the Scottish parliament, chaos in the Westminster parliament,” Sir Keir said.

He said the Scottish People have been “fundamentally let down” and “all the SNP can offer is chaos. We’ve got to turn the page on this now – we need that general election and a fresh start.”

Humza Yousaf has “jumped before being pushed” and the Scottish Conservatives will remove the “entire rotten SNP government” from office, a Tory MSP claimed.

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross said: “We knew the best chance of winning a vote of no confidence was in Humza Yousaf himself. That’s why the Scottish Conservatives tabled it last Thursday and he’s now jumped before being pushed.

“We saw off Nicola Sturgeon and now Humza Yousaf. Now we work to remove this entire rotten SNP Government from office.”

Embattled Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf is set to give a press conference at around 12pm today after it emerged he was considering resigning.

The Scottish National Party leader will speak to reporters at his official residence of Bute House, Edinburgh, amid reports he could “call it quits” today.

It comes after the collapse of his power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens last week, according to senior SNP officials.

Lorna Slater, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, appeared to rule out striking another formal coalition deal with the SNP.

She told Sky News that “reassembling something like that after the trust has been lost between the parties I think is probably unrealistic”.

She said she hoped the SNP would replace Humza Yousaf with someone who could “command the confidence of the parliament” and lead a minority administration.

Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has been pictured getting into a car outside his home in Dundee, where he will travel to Edinburgh.

There is a growing presence outside his official residency of Bute House, where he is expected to give a resignation speech. It is around a 1 hour and 30 minute drive between Dundee and Edinburgh.