HUMZA Yousaf is preparing to step down as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland, according to reports.
The news comes with Yousaf facing two no-confidence motions in the Scottish parliament, one in his leadership tabled by the Scottish Conservatives and another in his entire government tabled by Scottish Labour.
The motions were announced after the First Minister ended the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens on Thursday morning, firing the party’s co-leader Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater as ministers and leaving the SNP at the head of a minority government.
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Late on Thursday, reports said Yousaf was considering his position, but senior government sources insisted to The National that he was not thinking about resigning and would “come out fighting”.
READ MORE: Alba Party 'put on election footing' after emergency meeting
But pressure has built with a defiant Scottish Green group calling on Yousaf to resign, signalling he may lose the Conservative-tabled motion.
On Sunday night, The Times reported that Yousaf had concluded he would have to step down, and may do so on Monday.
It cited a source close to the First Minister as saying: “Humza knows what’s best for the country and the party. He is first party activist and a party man, and that’s why he knows it’s time for someone else.”
The paper further reported that senior SNP figures had been told of Yousaf's decision. Although the timing of the resignation is unclear, the reports will pile immense pressure on the SNP leader to move aside.
The early favourites to replace Yousaf, who became First Minister in late March 2023, are Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth and former finance secretary Kate Forbes (below).
Other outlets, including the BBC and Daily Record, reported that the resignation could come as soon as Monday.
READ MORE: Who are the favourites to become SNP leader after Humza Yousaf?
Both Gilruth and Forbes have reportedly been on manoeuvres, calling SNP parliamentarians with an eye to count on their support should a leadership contest take place.
Last year, Yousaf narrowly won the SNP leadership race with 52% of the vote to Forbes’s 48%, once third-place contender Ash Regan had been eliminated.
Regan later defected to Alba, and now sits as their only MSP.
She had said she would be willing to support Yousaf in a no-confidence motion, if he would agree to concessions such as supporting her Referendum Bill.
However, reports said that a deal with Alba, in any form, would not have been popular with the majority of SNP members, making it a very difficult proposition for Yousaf.
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