Humza Yousaf has vowed to fight a vote of no confidence in his leadership as he insisted he would not resign as First Minister despite his position now hanging by a thread.

Mr Yousaf said he was confident he would win the vote, but also told journalists he would not rule out a Holyrood election. He urged the Greens to reconsider their decision to back a Tory motion of no confidence in him, insisting he “didn’t intend to make them as angry as they clearly are”.

Mr Yousaf told Channel 4 News: “I'm intending to win the vote of no confidence, but I wouldn't rule out a Holyrood election. We're on an election footing – we're prepared if that's required."

Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, said it was clear Mr Yousaf did not have the confidence of the Parliament. He said the First Minister needed to “bear the consequences” of his “reckless and damaging decision” to end the Bute House Agreement.

In an emotional interview with the BBC, Green MSP Gillian Mckay accused Mr Yousaf of “one of the worst pieces of political judgment” in the history of Holyrood.

The First Minister scrapped the power-sharing deal between the two parties on Thursday morning, insisting it had served its purpose and the SNP would now govern as a minority administration. The decision met with a furious reaction from the Greens.

“As far as the Greens are concerned, the best thing Humza Yousaf could do to conclude this is resign,” a party source told The Scotsman.

First Minister Humza Yousaf visits a housing development in Dundee. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty Images

As well as the Tory motion of no confidence in Mr Yousaf as First Minister, Labour has now submitted a motion of no confidence in the Scottish Government as a whole. The Greens are yet to decide whether to back this.

Green MSP Ross Greer told the Holyrood Sources podcast the party did not have confidence in Mr Yousaf as First Minister, but this was “a different question to confidence in the Scottish Government”.

Despite the grim outlook, a source close to the First Minister suggested the Greens could yet be persuaded. “Nothing is certain,” they said. “There are a lot of moving parts to this.”

During a visit to Dundee on Friday that was arranged at short notice after Mr Yousaf pulled out of a speech in Glasgow, the First Minister said he would seek to stay in post.

Joe FitzPatrick MSP with First Minister Humza Yousaf (right) during a visit to the Hillcrest Homes housing development in Dundee. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Asked whether he intended to resign, he said: “No, I fully intend to not just win that vote, but I intend to fight to make sure that the Government continues to deliver on the priorities of the people.”

He said he would "absolutely" lead his party into the coming general election and the 2026 Holyrood election. Elsewhere, he accused the opposition parties of “political game playing”, adding: “We’ll be getting on with the job and when the vote comes, I fully intend to win.”

Asked if he would work with Alba Party MSP Ash Regan – whose vote could potentially be critical to his survival – the First Minister said he will be writing to all leaders, inviting them to a meeting in an attempt to “make minority government work”.

He said he understood the anger and hurt of the Greens, but hoped they would reconsider their position "because there [are] a lot of issues, a lot of priorities, that both the SNP and the Greens share". A Green source said Mr Yousaf was panicking.

SNP MP Stewart McDonald said the First Minister “must, as a matter of urgency, seek to mend the bridge he burned this week”. Writing in The Scotsman, Mr McDonald said: “I don’t mean by welcoming them back into government – that ship has sailed – but by meeting with the Green Party co-leaders privately to make amends and discuss how they might co-operate in the future. There is too much at stake for both parties, not to mention the country at large, to throw away this partnership overnight, and I rather suspect similar overtures to other parties will be met with outright hostility.”

Ms Regan wrote to the First Minister to set out her demands if she is to support him. The former SNP minister, who Mr Yousaf said was “no great loss” when she defected to Alex Salmond’s party last year, said she wanted to see progress on Scottish independence and defending “the rights of women and children”.

Ms Regan also suggested in her letter to Alba members that investment in the Grangemouth refinery, which could shut as early as next year and shift to an import and export terminal, could be the price for her support.

A tight vote is expected at Holyrood next week, and since the SNP has 63 out of the 128 MSPs, Ms Regan’s vote could be crucial in getting Mr Yousaf over the line.

Scottish Labour sought to put further pressure on the SNP by lodging a no confidence motion in the entire Scottish Government, rather than just Mr Yousaf. If passed, this could lead to a Scottish Parliament election.

Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “It’s a matter now of when, not if, Humza Yousaf will step down as First Minister. It would be untenable for the SNP to assume it can impose another unelected first minister on Scotland.”

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross confirmed on Times Radio he would back the Labour motion, saying: “I’ll support that because I want to get rid of the Scottish Government.”

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn insisted Mr Yousaf “is a man of profound integrity”. “I had a conversation with Humza last night,” Mr Flynn told the BBC.

“He was reflective, but he was also very clear to me that he’s going to come out fighting because he believes in what he says. He believes in delivering for the people for Scotland. He believes in creating jobs and opportunities for the next generation.”

Mr Flynn said he expected Mr Yousaf to win the confidence vote and continue as party leader and First Minister. Speaking to Radio 4 later, Mr Flynn suggested he would not stand to be SNP leader if Mr Yousaf was to resign.

Ms Regan posted a copy of her letter to Mr Yousaf on social media. It said: “Independence for Scotland, protecting the dignity, safety and rights of women and children, and providing a competent government for our people and businesses across Scotland remain my priorities. My door is open to discussing the progress of my proposed Scottish Parliament Powers Referendum Bill.”

Ms Regan’s Bill would seek a referendum to ask the Scottish public if Holyrood should have the powers to negotiate and legislate for Scottish independence.

It came as Mr Yousaf pledged an uplift of £80 million for affordable housing over two years, in his first policy announcement since ending the Bute House Agreement. He said he would increase the budget for affordable housing supply to £600m in 2024/25.

Labour said the announcement would do “next to nothing to tackle the housing emergency or to undo the damage done by £196m of SNP cuts to the housing budget”.

Asked if there was any way back for Mr Yousaf in terms of working with the Greens, Mr Harvie said the First Minister had “broken trust”, adding: “He still hasn’t really given any clarity on why he made such a dramatic U-turn and broke a promise on which he was elected as First Minister.

“So it’s very difficult to see how you can have a conversation that leads to a constructive outcome on the basis of that lack of trust.”

SNP leader Humza Yousaf says he will not resign as First Minister amid no confidence motions

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