Humza Yousaf insists he will not quit as First Minister as he faces no confidence motion
Scotland’s under-fire First Minister Humza Yousaf has insisted he will not resign, despite facing a vote of no confidence in his leadership on Friday.
The Scottish Conservatives have put forward the motion of no confidence, while Labour has submitted a similar motion, saying the party has no confidence in the Scottish Government.
During a visit to Dundee on Friday that was arranged at short notice after he pulled out of a speech in Glasgow, Mr Yousaf insisted he will seek to stay in post.
Speaking to the gathered media, he said he will not stand down and intends to fight the vote of no confidence in him.
Asked whether he intends to resign, Mr Yousaf 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. Like, for example, investing in affordable housing.”
He accused the opposition parties of “political game playing”, and added: “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 Holyrood leader 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”.
His comments came as he battles for his political survival after terminating the powersharing deal the SNP had with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood for almost three years.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party would be laying a motion of no confidence in Scotland’s government this afternoon.
He added it would be "untenable for the SNP to assume it can impose another unelected first minister on Scotland".
"Scottish Labour has no confidence in Humza Yousaf or this SNP Government, that is why we are laying a motion today to this effect to say that the parliament has no confidence in the Scottish Government," he said.
"It is for the people of Scotland to decide who is first minister, not just a group of SNP members.”
Mr Yousaf is battling to save his position as First Minister after his former allies in the Scottish Greens vowed to vote against him in a motion of no confidence.
He dramatically brought the powersharing deal with the Greens to an end on Thursday and he now faces a backlash which could cost him his job.
Mr Yousaf cancelled a planned speech at Strathclyde University as he fights for political survival.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the First Minister will "come out fighting".
The Alba Party MSP whose vote could be crucial to Mr Yousaf's future has written to the First Minister, setting out demands in exchange for her support.
Ash Regan, a former SNP minister who defected to Alex Salmond's party, said she wants to see progress on Scottish independence and defending "the rights of women and children".
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Mr Yousef had "squandered" his party's chances.
"It really does take something to make the Conservative government in Westminster look stable and organised, but the SNP have managed to provide that with what we've seen in the last few days," he told Sky News.
Asked whether the Scottish government might receive a boost from a new leader if the First Minister is ousted, he said: "The SNP have been in power in Scotland for a long time.
“And they've had at those moments, various moments, actually quite effective popular leaders. But look how poor their record has been.
"And so frankly, whoever they switch to if that is what they're planning to do, I don't think they can run away from that record."
