Flailing Humza Yousaf refuses to quit and insists he is confident of victory next week
The embattled First Minister of Scotland has put on a defiant display as opposition parties threaten to bring him down next week in a vote of no confidence
Douglas Ross lodges vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf
Humza Yousaf has come out fight for his political life, squashing rumours he’s on the verge of quitting and vowing to battle next week’s confidence motion.
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, the crisis-ridden First Minister vowed: “I’m not quitting”.
He added: “I’ll be fighting that vote of no confidence”.
Mr Yousaf also said he’s “confident” he can win the parliamentary showdown next Thursday, despite the numbers being on a knife-edge.
Amid rumours last night and this morning that he is considering jumping before he’s pushed, Mr Yousaf said: “I intend absolutely to fight that vote of no confidence and I'm getting on with the day job”.
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Asked if he’s a “lame duck leader” he said the accusation is a “tired cliche”.
"The reality is that I'm here delivering on the priorities of the people.”
With the SNP’s 63 MSPs, the vote will come down to the wire.
The Greens, Tories, Labour and LibDem have 64 MSPs between them, leaving Alba’s Ash Regan with the deciding vote.
Speaking this afternoon, Tory leader Douglas Ross says he won’t be happy just defenestrating Humza Yousaf, but wants to remove "the entire Scottish government”.
He told Times Radio: “ I want to remove the entire Scottish government. They have been focused on independence above everything else. Our health service has suffered, our education system has suffered, our funding for local government has been cut to the bone all while the SNP have obsessed about independence above the priorities of people across Scotland”.
“But what we have already seen in reaction to the Labour motion being put down by Sarwar is that it is not gaining support from crucially the Greens.
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They have said they will back our motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf. They are not saying the same about the motion of no confidence in the entire Scottish government.
So I will support that because I want to get rid of the Scottish government. but ultimately we are on the brink of removing Humza Yousaf from office.
“He has been a failure as First Minister and we have an opportunity next week to end his time in office”.
This morning, a former ally and supporter of Mr Yousaf has told The Times: “He’s done. Whether it’s today, tomorrow or later than that, he’s done”.
Asked whether he will resign if he loses the vote of confidence, an SNP spokesman said they wouldn’t answer “hypothetical” questions.
The SNP mouthpiece also boasted that the now-collapsed SNP-Green coalition deal lasted 19 times longer than Liz Truss’s premiership.
Thankfully for Mr Yousaf, 15 days ago he overtook former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish’s tenure, meaning he will just avoid having to suffer the ignominy of being Scotland’s shortest-serving leader in history.
