The Scottish Prime Minister has resigned after avoiding a vote of no confidence

Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf announced on Monday that he will step down as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and head of regional government.

He will thus avoid two no-confidence votes.

Youssef has led a minority government since Thursday when he tore up a coalition deal with the Greens after the Scottish government scrapped ambitious climate plans, straining relations between the two parties.

He was facing a vote of no confidence proposed by the Conservatives, while Labor had proposed a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Government as a whole.

The vote proposed by the opposition conservatives was already scheduled for Wednesday.

Yousaf, 39, became Scotland’s Prime Minister exactly 13 months ago, replacing Nicola Sturgeon.

Sturgeon unexpectedly announced her resignation as Prime Minister and SNP leader in February 2023 after a scandal broke out in connection with the government’s stance on transgender rights. She led Scotland for eight years.

The SNP leadership was contested by Kate Forbes, Ash Riegen and Yussaf, who won. It was the first real SNP leader election since 2004, as Sturgeon was elected unopposed in 2014. The election reflected a split in the party between more right-leaning politicians and those who lean more to the left.

Youssaf initially announced that he had no intention of resigning and was going to pass both no-confidence votes.

The Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and Greens all said they would vote against Youssef in a vote proposed by the Conservatives, so he had to seek the support of Ash Riegen, the only MP representing the Alba party, recently founded by former SNP leader Alex Salmond.

Rīgena is also a former SNP member and competed with Yusaf for the position of party leader in March 2023.

Yousaf, who is the first Muslim leader of a major British party, said he believed victory was “absolutely possible”. But he added that he is “not ready to sell my values ​​or principles or make deals with anyone just to stay in power.”