Humza Yousaf’s SNP is hurtling towards catastrophe with his troubled administration facing a vote of no confidence.
Scotland’s First Minister was today dealt a massive bodyblow after the power-sharing agreement which gave his party a majority at Holyrood collapsed dramatically.
The Scottish Conservatives confirmed they will lodge a vote of no confidence in Mr Yousaf – with Tory leader Douglas Ross dismissing him as “weak” and a “failed First Minister”.
Meanwhile Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it was time to “end this circus and call an election.
Mr Ross was speaking at Holyrood came hours after an emergency meeting of the Scottish Cabinet on Thursday morning, during which Mr Yousaf terminated the deal his party had with the Scottish Greens with “immediate effect”.
The Bute House Agreement had given the SNP a majority, and in the wake of its collapse the Tories sought to heap further pressure on the First Minister.
During First Minister’s Questions, Mr Ross told MSPs: “I can confirm today that on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives I am lodging a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf.
“He is a failed First Minister. He is focused on the wrong priorities for Scotland.
“He has governed in the SNP’s interests and not in Scotland’s interests. He is unfit for office.”
He added that with the Bute House Agreement scrapped: “Shouldn’t this be the end of the road for this weak First Minister?”
If a vote of no confidence is passed, it would mean a majority of MSPs no longer have confidence in the leadership of the First Minister – and would put Mr Yousaf under enormous pressure.
However the SNP leader accused the Tories of game playing, insisting the arrangement with the Greens had “served its purpose” and had lasted 19 times longer than Liz Truss was Prime Minister for.
Mr Yousaf went on to warn Mr Ross the Tories would be “judged very poorly” for playing “political games”.
Commenting after FMQs, Mr Sarwar said: “The First Minister has spent weeks defending this discredited Government.
“Just days ago, he said the Bute House Agreement was “worth its weight in gold”.
“He was pleading with Green party members to keep his shambolic Government together: I hope that the cooperation agreement will continue and I hope that Green members will also see the benefit of that cooperation”.
“But now he has been forced into a humiliating u-turn.
“And he knows it. These are his words: ‘I can’t imagine being the…leader of the SNP and the first thing I do is destabilise the government by going into a minority government. I think that would be a tremendously foolish thing to do.’
Mr Sarwar continued: “The First Minister is claiming that this is a sign of strength but for once people agree with Lorna Slater: he is “weak, hopeless and untrustworthy”.
“The challenges facing our country have never been so great, but Scotland’s Government has never been so poor and its leadership has never been so weak.”
“The people of Scotland didn’t vote for this mess and this chaos.
“It’s time to end this circus and call an election.”
