Humza Yousaf set to quit as First Minister and SNP leader ahead of no-confidence votes

First Minister Humza Yousaf is set to resign after failing to negotiate with rival parties, who have called for him to quit

Humza Yousaf is set to quit as First Minister today after failing to negotiate with rival parties over the weekend ahead of two no-confidence votes.

The SNP leader is holding a press conference at Bute House, his official residence in Edinburgh at noon, where he is expected to announce his resignation.

It comes as he faces two votes of no confidence: one from the Scottish Conservatives; and another from Scottish Labour, which has has tabled one for the Scottish Government as a whole. The votes were expected to be scheduled for either Wednesday or Thursday.

The decision will spark a flurry of movement within the SNP’s leadership ranks, with Kate Forbes, as well as current ministers Jenny Gilruth and Neil Gray, already been touted as potential candidates to replace the First Minister.

Former Scottish deputy first minister John Swinney, who has reportedly been approached about stepping in as an interim option while a contest takes place for the SNP leadership, said it would be a “difficult day”.

Mr Swinney, who served as deputy under Nicola Sturgeon, was asked about current events in Scottish politics as he appeared at an event held by the Resolution Foundation on 25 years of devolution on Monday.

“We face a difficult day today,” the former deputy first minister said. “The First Minister is going to make a statement later on today, I think it is best if I let the First Minister speak for himself.”

Asked if he would want to be first minister, Mr Swinney, who has been in the Scottish Parliament since it was established in 1999, said it was a “very demanding role”.

He said: “I will consider what the First Minister says and reflect on that. I may well have more to say at a later stage during the week.”

Mr Yousaf had ruled out a deal with Alex Salmond's Alba party, while his efforts to meet with the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Greens and the Liberal Democrats have been rebuffed.

Former leadership challenger Kate Forbes, education secretary Jenny Gilruth and health secretary Neil Gray have been tipped as potential contenders to replace Mr Yousaf, in the event he resigns.

SNP MSP Michelle Thomson said she has heard “rumours” the First Minister was considering stepping down rather than facing a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament.

Mr Yousaf’s premiership had been hanging by a thread since he ended the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens last week.

Ms Thomson, who was part of Ms Forbes’s campaign for leadership last year, told the BBC: “I’m hearing the same rumours [that the First Minister is considering stepping down] and I think we’re all waiting to see what the actual position is.

“I guess the rumours suggest that something is afoot. But I honestly can’t clarify because I’ve had no update nor, as I understand have my MSP group, so I guess we’ll all hear definitively one way or another this morning.”

Ms Thomson went on to describe the First Minister as an “honourable man” who was “well liked” within the SNP Holyrood group.

The SNP leader had written to other parties in an attempt to build bridges and establish how they can work with his minority Government, inviting the other leaders to meetings at his official residence.

Mr Yousaf’s former partners in government, the Scottish Greens, have indicated they will not be changing their minds about supporting the coming motion of no confidence in him, saying he must face “consequences”.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie reiterated the First Minister should stand down on Monday, but insisted he beared no “personal ill will” against Mr Yousaf.

The former Government minister, who was fired when the Bute House Agreement was scrapped, said: “I’m afraid so [that he should resign].

“I do want to say there is a human impact to all of this, a human element to all of this, I don’t bear Humza Yousaf personal ill will or malice in any way at all and I take no pleasure at all, none of us in the Greens do, in turbulence and chaos over the last week or two.

“But it is clear that Humza Yousaf, in the decision that he made last week has broken trust with the Scottish Greens, cannot command a majority in Parliament and we stand ready to work with someone who can.

“Because the SNP are by-far-and-away the largest party in Parliament, they’re just short of a majority, they are capable of providing stable minority Government, they have a responsibility to do so.

“I think opposition parties have a responsibility to play their part, it’s been done before, it can be done again, but Humza Yousaf, I’m really sorry to say, is no longer in a position to do that, because it has to depend on trust.”

Labour’s deputy national campaign co-ordinator Ellie Reeves said people should have the chance to vote in a Holyrood election due to “chaos” under the SNP.

She told Sky News: “No-one voted for Humza Yousaf and, given all of the chaos, I think there should be an election up in Scotland so that people in Scotland can have their say on what’s happening up there. At the moment they are being failed by an SNP Government in Holyrood and a Conservative Government in Westminster.”