Humza Yousaf resigns as Scotland's first minister

On a historic day in Scottish politics, here's a reminder of what's been making the headlines:

• Humza Yousaf has signalled he will resign as Scotland's first minister and leader of the SNP
• He says he will stay on as first minister until the Scottish National Party chooses his replacement
• Yousaf has said he "underestimated" the level of hurt after ending a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens last week
• The SNP leader was facing two votes of no confidence later this week and said in his speech that it's "absolutely possible" he could have won by cutting a deal
• Yousaf has told reporters he wasn't willing to trade his principles just to hold on to power and became visibly emotional as he paid tribute to his wife and children

• Speculation has been taking place about who Yousaf's successor could be
• Former SNP leader John Swinney, who served as deputy first minister to Nicola Sturgeon, has already said he is actively considering standing
• Swinney has already received the backing of the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, his predecessor Iain Blackford, Energy Secretary Mairi McAllan and Scotland's Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth

• However, SNP MP Joanna Cherry and MSP Fergus Ewing have come out supporting Kate Forbes
• Scotland's Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has ruled herself out of the running
• Douglas Ross, Scottish Conservative leader, says Humza Yousaf has "let the people of Scotland down"
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar warns the SNP not to "impose another unelected first minister on Scotland"

Today has been a landmark day in Scotland's recent political history, but what happens now?

Humza Yousaf has said he will remain as first minister until his successor is chosen.

The Scottish Parliament then has 28 days to nominate a replacement for Yousaf once his resignation has been accepted by the King.

If there was only one candidate for the parliamentary nomination, they would only need a simple majority of votes in favour to secure the nomination.

In the event that several party leaders put themselves forward for the election, as was the case when Humza Yousaf was confirmed as first minister last year, any candidate that secured more than half of all votes would win the nomination.

Yousaf's position as first minister is ironically more settled now he has announced his resignation, with the Scottish Greens saying they would not back a motion of no confidence in him or the government this week.

Read about how the next first minister will be chosen here.

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Humza Yousaf’s resignation could “turn the fortunes of the SNP”, Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff Liz Lloyd has said.

Lloyd tells BBC Scotland that she thinks the SNP have the potential to bounce back, but only if they come together “really quickly” and put an end to the bickering and sniping that’s taken place over the last 12 months.

She says if they can get the party's leadership settled quickly and go back to “the bread and butter basics that people care about”, there is the potential for the SNP to stop the decline in the polls and get back on the front foot.

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The leader of the Scottish Greens has called for a return to "stable government", but says his party won't join a new power-sharing agreement.

Patrick Harvie has told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme: "It's in neither party's position to try and recreate what has been broken; we’ve moved on from that."

He said the Scottish Greens will work with whichever party is in power, as long as they support a "progressive values" agenda.

"If the SNP were to select someone who rejects that kind of agenda then I think it would be very difficult for them to get a majority in parliament," he says.

Harvie adds his party will no longer support any no confidence motions submitted to parliament, adding they are "no longer needed" and any attempts to continue them would be "performative, vindictive and petty".

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Scotland's Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has told BBC Reporting Scotland she will "definitely not" be running in the race to replace Humza Yousaf.

Robison also says it would not be appropriate for her to back any other candidate, preferring to leave it up to the membership of the SNP.

"I am not going to back anyone for the reason that I don't think I should; I think we should let the party decide.

"I'll have my own views but I think it has to be someone who first of all will unite the party, take forward the priorities, but also, and this is the tricky bit, reach across the parliament," she says.

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Scotland's Energy Secretary Mairi McAllan has offered her "wholehearted support" to John Swinney if he decides to stand in the SNP's leadership contest.

McAllan says she is "very pleased" Swinney is considering standing for the role.

"He is profoundly experienced and a unifying figure with a deep commitment to public service," she has said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

McAllan, who is currently pregnant with her first child, has previously been tipped as a future first minister, with some people expecting her to stand.

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Scottish Labour's shadow finance secretary has said the party is considering whether to continue with a no confidence motion against the Scottish government.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime, Michael Marra MSP says while the reasons for the motion still stand, they will spend the next 48 hours deciding whether to pursue it.

"There were no real answers to what happens next from the first minister today," Marra says. "We want clarity on that so we can understand the next steps in the process."

"We will see how the week develops," he adds.

The party submitted a motion of no confidence against the Scottish government last week, which was backed by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

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Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross has told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme that he is leaving his motion for a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf's leadership "on the table".

"We're in a similar position to Labour because we don't know the process," he says. "The current first minister obviously took no questions from the media after his statement

"We don't know how long the selection process for a new SNP leader will be; we don't know if there will even be an actual contest.

"So there's an awful lot of things up in the air."

However, Ross warns that potential leadership candidate John Swinney would simply represent "continuity to the max" if he were to take over as SNP leader and first minister.

"Nothing would change with John Swinney," he says, before adding "he would continue the same damaging policies that have divided a lot of our discussions in Holyrood in recent years".

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The deputy leader of the SNP says John Swinney would get his backing as Humza Yousaf's successor.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime, Keith Brown MSP has said the party's next leader should be engaging, have experience and be able to unify both the people and the party.

"I very much hope that John Swinney puts his name forward... I think he completes all three of those criteria," Brown says.

Brown continues by describing Swinney as someone who is "competent and has integrity", before adding that both of these are timeless qualities.

"I hope whoever the next leader is takes us all the way through to 2026," he says.

On what has been a tumultuous day here in Scotland, it's time for a round-up of the main talking points:

• Humza Yousaf has resigned as Scotland's first minister and leader of the SNP
• He has said he will stay on as first minister until the Scottish National Party chooses his replacement
• Yousaf said he "underestimated" the level of hurt after ending a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens last week
• The SNP leader was facing two votes of no confidence later this week and said in his speech that it's "absolutely possible" he could have won by cutting a deal
• Yousaf told reporters he wasn't willing to trade his principles just to hold on to power and became visibly emotional as he paid tribute to his wife and children

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• Speculation has already been taking place about who Yousaf's successor could be
• Former SNP leader John Swinney, who served as deputy first minister to Nicola Sturgeon, has already said he is actively considering standing
• Swinney has already received the backing of the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, his predecessor Iain Blackford and Scotland's Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth

• Another high profile backer of Swinney would be Scotland's Health Secretary Neil Gray
• However, SNP MP Joanna Cherry has come out publically for Kate Forbes

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BBC Scotland's Drivetime has been hearing from the former First Minister Henry McLeish about Humza Yousaf's stint.

McLeish resigned in 2001 after just over a year in charge due to an office expenses row, making him Scotland's shortest serving first minister.

The former Scottish Labour leader says it was a "very dignified" resignation speech from Humza Yousaf.

"He handled it well; he in a real sense is a very decent person," McLeish says.

McLeish goes on to say: "I think he took the right decision at the right moment."

"This will be a dark day for him. Resigning is a lonely experience... (but) he will start to realise, as a young person in politics, he's got a life ahead of him - probably a successful political life," McLeish adds.

As we've been reporting, Humza Yousaf is to stand down Scotland's first minister once a successor is found.

But who could take over from him?

BBC political correspondent David Wallace Lockhart examines the options that lie ahead, in this short video:

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Scotland's deputy first minister has paid tribute to Humza Yousaf, saying his resignation shows "the mark of the man".

Shona Robison would not be drawn on who she would support in the leadership contest.

But instead she told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime: "Now is a moment for the party to pull together, to move forward and to make sure we get back on the front foot with stability and the important business of government."

Robison says while it is up to Yousaf's successor to choose a new cabinet, she has no intention of stepping down as deputy first minister.

"I will certainly get on with the job I have at the moment," she adds.

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The Scottish secretary says the SNP have “had their day” and calls on the next first minister to “put independence and identity politics to one side”.

Alister Jack has told BBC Scotland News that Humza Yousaf did “absolutely the right thing to resign” and he’d work with anyone “who wants to work with the UK government”.

“He’s had a calamitous time as first minister and I think it’s important we get a first minister now who focuses on the real priorities of the people of Scotland," he says.

Jack continues by saying "obsessing with independence has been a terrible mistake – put that to one side, put to one side identity politics and get on with delivering public services".

He also says the Scottish Conservatives would welcome an election should MSPs be unable to agree on a replacement.

“We have no fear of an election," Jack adds.

“[The SNP] are in decline in Scotland, we would love to have an election and get rid of them. I’m convinced they have had their day and people in Scotland now are interested in working with the United Kingdom,” Jack says.

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Former SNP cabinet secretary Fergus Ewing says he expects Kate Forbes to run to be SNP leader and first minister.

"The time for Kate has now come," he says.

The Inverness MSP has told BBC Scotland News that Forbes is "less combative than John Swinney" and is better able to articulate a "fresh start" for the party.

Ewing says John Swinney would represent "continuity" and warns that he is seen as the "architect" of the Bute House agreement with the Scottish Greens.

He says Forbes's Christian beliefs were a "great thing" but would not influence decisions she would make as first minister.

However, he warns there could be no "coronation" in the SNP.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says he will support the SNP government to promote progressive policies.

"Our severe difficulties were with the decision Humza Yousaf made to end the Bute House agreement," Patrick Harvie tells BBC News.

The 2021 Bute House power-sharing agreement brought Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater into the government as ministers.

Harvie says if there is willingness to work together "on progressive values" then there is "no reason" his party will not work with a minority government.

A spokesperson for the first minister has contradicted claims from Alex Salmond, reported here, that Humza Yousaf wanted to do a deal with his Alba party.

Salmond told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that Yousaf had phoned Alba at about 07:30 BST this morning to say that the Alba plans were rational.

The upcoming vote of no confidence in Yousaf could have hinged on the support of the only Alba MSP in the Scottish parliament, Ash Regan, as the SNP has 63 MSPs compared to 65 opposition MSPs.

But the first minister's spokesperson said: "Out of courtesy, the first minister returned a call from Ash Regan this morning in which he confirmed there would not be an electoral pact or deal with Alba."