Leader of the independent Scottish National Party (SNP), 39 years old, son of (Pakistani) immigrants, he was the first Scottish Muslim leader. His decision to leave office comes after the breakdown of the ‘Bute House Agreement’, his party’s power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens
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Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf has resigned. Leader of the independent Scottish National Party (SNP), he announced his resignation during a press conference in Edinburgh. A decision that comes after the breakup of Bute House Agreement, his party’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens. Yousaf thus leaves the leadership of the local executive just 13 months after his appointment before facing the vote this week in two motions of no confidence presented by opposition members of the Conservative Party and the Labor Party in the Holyrood parliamentary assembly. “For a minority government to govern effectively and efficiently, trust when working with the opposition is clearly key,” he said. “I bear no grudge against anyone. Politics can be a brutal business,” he told a news conference. ”All of this takes a toll on your physical and mental health. Your family suffers alongside you,” he added.
First Scottish Muslim leader
Yousaf, 39, Scotland’s first Muslim leader and the son of (Pakistani) immigrants, said he would remain in his post as prime minister until his successor as leader of the SNP was named. Announcing his departure, he said he had “clearly underestimated the level of upset” caused to his Scottish Green colleagues by acknowledging his responsibility for the demise of the governing alliance. The outgoing “first minister” also underlined that he was not willing to seek the support of other parties in order to survive politically so as not to question his own values and principles. He also said he will “continue to defend the rights and voices of those who are often not heard,” including those suffering the “most horrific humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.
see also
The Scottish law against transphobia and JK Rowling’s battle
The SNP crisis
With the resignation of the leader, the crisis of the SNP worsens even further, already marked by the scandal concerning internal financial management which engulfed the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon last year, while her successor managed to resist the leadership of the independence group for just over a year. The problems are not only at a local level but also at a national level: the party, which has 43 deputies in the London Parliament, is threatened by a strong return of Labor in the northernmost nation of the United Kingdom with general elections scheduled for end of year.
