Scotland’s beleaguered First Minister is to face a vote of no confidence in his Government just over 48 hours after announcing his resignation.
If passed, it would force all ministers to resign and potentially lead to a snap Holyrood election, but the motion has little chance of winning enough votes due to a lack of Green support.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar tabled the motion last week following the end of the powersharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens and is pressing ahead with it despite First Minister Humza Yousaf announcing he will step down.
Approval of the motion would compel the First Minister to resign immediately under the terms of the Scotland Act, and all ministers in his minority SNP Government to also stand down, with Holyrood given 28 days to elect a new first minister before an election is called.
It is unlikely to pass due to the prospect of the Scottish Greens abstaining, but the motion will gain the support of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
Speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday, Mr Sarwar said he wanted to use the motion to highlight the need for a Holyrood election amid turmoil in the SNP.
He added the “genie was out of the bottle” for the SNP, adding: “I think this is a dysfunctional, chaotic, divided political party.”
The decision to press ahead with the vote, he said, is a “point of principle”, adding: “We also want to highlight the democratic deficit, as they themselves described it when they were talking about Westminster and the Conservatives.”
Mr Sarwar said he is “desperate” for a Scottish election alongside a Westminster one, which will be held later this year, adding his party is “ready for elections”.
Meanwhile, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross withdrew a motion of no confidence in the First Minister following his decision to stand down.
Declaring “job done”, Mr Ross added: “I’m delighted that the Scottish Conservative motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf achieved its purpose by forcing him to resign.
“While on a personal level I wish him well for the future, he was a disaster as First Minister and it’s in Scotland’s interests that he goes.”
The motion comes at the end of a tumultuous week in Scottish politics, with the collapse of the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Greens sparking a chain of events which led to the First Minister’s resignation.
