{"id":38234,"date":"2024-04-29T13:44:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/29\/humza-yousaf-resigns-as-scotlands-first-minister\/"},"modified":"2024-04-29T13:44:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:44:52","slug":"humza-yousaf-resigns-as-scotlands-first-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/29\/humza-yousaf-resigns-as-scotlands-first-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Humza Yousaf Resigns as Scotland\u2019s First Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/29\/multimedia\/29uk-yousaf-qwck\/29uk-yousaf-qwck-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Humza Yousaf Resigns as Scotland\u2019s First Minister\" title=\"Humza Yousaf Resigns as Scotland\u2019s First Minister\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scotland\u2019s first minister, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/03\/27\/world\/europe\/scotland-snp-new-leader-humza-yousaf.html\" title=\"\">Humza Yousaf<\/a>, resigned on Monday in the latest setback for his Scottish National Party, which has been engulfed in a slow-burn crisis over a funding scandal that erupted after its popular leader Nicola Sturgeon stepped down last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Yousaf\u2019s departure had looked increasingly inevitable after he gambled last week by <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/25\/world\/europe\/scotland-snp-green-government-coalition.html\" title=\"\">ending a power sharing deal<\/a> with the Scottish Green Party, angering its leaders and leaving him at the head of a minority government without obvious allies. His opponents then pressed for two motions of no confidence, which were expected to take place later this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Having explored his options over several fraught days, Mr. Yousaf, who was Scotland\u2019s first Muslim leader, said that he would quit in a speech on Monday at Bute House in Edinburgh, the official residence of the Scottish first minister.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAfter spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government and for the country I lead, I have concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,\u201d Mr. Yousaf said in a short and at times emotional statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He added, \u201cIt is my intention to continue as first minister until my successor is elected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His resignation came after little more than a year as leader of the S.N.P., which has dominated the country\u2019s politics for more than a decade and which campaigns for Scottish independence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Yousaf took over after the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/02\/15\/world\/europe\/nicola-sturgeon-scotland-resignation.html\" title=\"\">surprise resignation<\/a> of Ms. Sturgeon, a prominent figure in Britain\u2019s politics, who announced her departure in February last year. At the time Mr. Yousaf was seen as the continuity candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But that became less of an asset when Ms. Sturgeon\u2019s husband, Peter Murrell, was arrested and later charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds while he was the party\u2019s long-serving chief executive. Ms. Sturgeon was also <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/11\/world\/europe\/nicola-sturgeon-scotland-arrest.html\" title=\"\">arrested<\/a> in the same inquiry but has not been charged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With the funding scandal looming over the S.N.P., Mr. Yousaf struggled to assert himself as leader, and the crisis coincided with the dimming of prospects for a new referendum on Scottish independence, the party\u2019s main preoccupation. In a 2014 referendum, Scots <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/09\/19\/world\/europe\/scotland-independence-vote.html\" title=\"\">voted to remain<\/a> in the United Kingdom by 55.3 percent, and polls suggest that just over half of voters continue to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/yougov.co.uk\/politics\/articles\/49101-labour-ahead-of-snp-in-scotland-for-first-time-since-independence-referendum\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">reject independence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The S.N.P.\u2019s troubles have been a bonus for Britain\u2019s main opposition Labour Party, which once dominated Scottish politics but saw its support there collapse in the mid 2010s, amid the growing debate over Scottish independence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/31\/world\/europe\/scotland-labour-election-parliament.html\" title=\"\">Labour\u2019s recent recovery in Scotland<\/a> could yield a number of seats there in a general election expected later this year, something that would significantly ease the path of the party\u2019s leader, Keir Starmer, to 10 Downing Street, the official home of Britain\u2019s prime minister.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the latest blow to the S.N.P. \u2014 Mr. Yousaf\u2019s resignation \u2014 was to a large extent self-inflicted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The party\u2019s power sharing agreement with the Greens, struck by Ms. Sturgeon in August 2021, allowed the S.N.P. to retain power after it emerged as the biggest party in that year\u2019s election but failed to win an outright majority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In recent weeks the Greens had become unhappy after the Scottish government <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/19\/climate\/scotland-climate-target-scrapped.html\" title=\"\">retreated from its pledge<\/a> to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 75 percent by 2030.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There was also tension between the parties over a decision by the National Health Service in Scotland <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/18\/health\/scotland-pauses-hormones-puberty-blockers-transgender.html\" title=\"\">to pause the prescription of puberty blockers<\/a> and other hormone treatments for minors. That followed an independent <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/09\/health\/europe-transgender-youth-hormone-treatments.html\" title=\"\">review of gender services<\/a> in England by Hilary Cass, a pediatrician.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Greens had planned to consult their members on whether to stay in the coalition, but last week Mr. Yousaf pre-empted that decision by terminating the agreement himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He appeared to assume that he could continue to lead a minority government with the tacit support of the Greens, but the peremptory manner in which he ended the deal infuriated the party. When Scotland\u2019s Conservative Party pressed a no-confidence vote for Mr. Yousaf, which had been expected this week, the Greens said they would vote against him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Labour then demanded a vote of confidence in the Scottish government, presenting two huge hurdles for Mr. Yousaf to surmount.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His failure to secure new support underscored the fractious nature of Scotland\u2019s politics. He could have kept his job had he reached an accommodation with Ash Regan, a former rival who left the S.N.P. to join another pro-independence party called Alba. But Alba is led by Alex Salmond, a former first minister and leader of the S.N.P. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/18\/world\/europe\/scotland-independence-salmond-sturgeon.html\" title=\"\">who had a spectacular fallout with Ms. Sturgeon<\/a>, once his prot\u00e9g\u00e9.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The prospect of a deal with Alba appeared too much for the progressive wing of the S.N.P. That left some new form of accommodation with the Greens as the clearest option for saving the government and avoiding a premature Scottish election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the Greens were in little mood to forgive Mr. Yousaf. After he ended their deal last week Lorna Slater, a co-leader of the Greens, accused the S.N.P. of \u201can act of cowardice,\u201d adding that Mr. Yousaf could \u201cno longer be trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Monday Mr. Yousaf admitted that he had \u201cclearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset\u201d that he had caused. \u201cFor a minority government to be able to govern effectively and efficiently trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He added that he was \u201cnot willing to trade my values and principles or do deals with whoever simply for retaining power,\u201d paid an emotional tribute to his family, and noted that politics was sometimes a \u201cbrutal business.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/29\/world\/europe\/scotland-humza-yousaf-resigns-snp.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scotland\u2019s first minister, Humza Yousaf, resigned on Monday in the latest setback for his Scottish National Party, which has been engulfed in a slow-burn crisis over a funding scandal that erupted after its popular leader Nicola Sturgeon stepped down last year. Mr. Yousaf\u2019s departure had looked increasingly inevitable after he gambled last week by ending [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/29\/multimedia\/29uk-yousaf-qwck\/29uk-yousaf-qwck-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17552,2124,6952,17431,17553],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38236,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38234\/revisions\/38236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}