Humza Yousaf Resigns: Another Scottish Nationalist Bites the Dust

If you’ve been paying attention to Scottish politics over the last few years, you may have noticed that these are turbulent times.

On Monday, Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister (essentially the prime minister of the devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh) and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), announced his resignation after 13 months in office. Yousaf, who faced opposition both on his left and right, made a fatal gamble in blowing up his coalition with the left-wing Green Party over climate change. Lacking allies, Yousaf’s minority government became untenable. He was facing two confidence votes later this week without the means to survive them. Rather than endure the humiliation, he quit.

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Madeleine Kearns

Madeleine Kearns is a former staff writer at National Review.

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If you’ve been paying attention to Scottish politics over the last few years, you may have noticed that these are turbulent times.

On Monday, Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister (essentially the prime minister of the devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh) and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), announced his resignation after 13 months in office. Yousaf, who faced opposition both on his left and right, made a fatal gamble in blowing up his coalition with the left-wing Green Party over climate change. Lacking allies, Yousaf’s minority government became untenable. He was facing two confidence votes later this week without the means to survive them. Rather than endure the humiliation, he quit.