LONDON (Reuters) – The Scottish government survived a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, giving the Scottish National Party (SNP) the chance to choose a new leader to replace Prime Minister Humza Yousaf, who announced his resignation on Monday after putting end to the ruling coalition with the Greens.
Humza Yousaf’s decision to step down as head of government and leadership of the SNP has plunged the party into chaos and fueled the Labor opposition’s hopes of regaining local parliamentary seats and thus winning the British general elections expected this year.
Polls show Labor tied or ahead of the SNP for the first time in a decade.
With the departure of Humza Yousaf, announced a few days after the leader ended the government coalition with the Greens, the SNP is looking for a third leader in just over a year, unusual unrest then that for a long time he seemed to have an iron grip on power.
If the Greens had made Humza Yousaf’s position untenable by displaying their distrust of him, they supported the SNP on Wednesday by voting against the motion of censure.
The motion was defeated with 70 votes to 58.
A defeat of the government would have led to the resignation of all ministers and likely triggered an election in Scotland.
Humza Yousaf, who came to power in March 2023, will therefore remain in office until the SNP appoints a new leader and Prime Minister. Former party leader John Swinney is among the potential candidates.
(Alistair Smout; French version Jean Terzian)
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