Scotland’s leader, Humza Yousaf, resigned on Monday, potentially aiding the UK opposition Labour Party’s chances of regaining its stronghold in Scotland for the upcoming national election.
Yousaf stepped down as head of the Scottish National Party (SNP) amid turmoil over ending a coalition with the Scottish Greens. Subsequently, he failed to garner sufficient support to withstand impending no-confidence votes.
Resigning just over a year after succeeding Nicola Sturgeon as the First Minister and SNP leader, Yousaf declared it was time for new leadership in Scotland’s devolved government.
Under his and Sturgeon’s leadership, the SNP grappled with a funding scandal and internal disagreements on policy progressiveness aimed at reclaiming lost voter support.
Yousaf’s tenure was marked by tensions over maintaining progressive policies versus nationalist calls to abandon gender recognition reforms in favour of economic issues, leading to his inability to secure broad support.
The SNP has seen its popularity decline after 17 years in power. Recent polls by YouGov indicated that Labour surpassed the SNP in voter preference for the Westminster election, the first such lead in ten years.
This shift challenges the SNP and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which trails Labour significantly in national polls.
The Scottish Parliament now has 28 days to appoint a new First Minister to avoid a compulsory election. Potential successors include former SNP leader John Swinney and Yousaf’s previous leadership competitor, Kate Forbes.
Scotland will face an election if the SNP fails to consolidate support around a new leader.
