Scottish Politics LIVE: Bute House Agreement scrapped as Humza Yousaf faces vote of no confidence
We follow live as the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens ends.
Scottish Politics Live: Bute House Agreement has collapsed | Humza Yousaf holds press conference
The Scottish Greens have officially said they will be supporting the vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf as First Minister.
We are hearing more and more rumblings that the Greens could back the no confidence motion in Humza Yousaf.
If that’s the case, it makes Ash Regan MSP the kingmaker here.
She stood against Humza Yousaf to be SNP leader and First Minister last year - a few months later she defected to Alba, becoming the party’s only MSP in Holyrood.
But seeing as she is now under no obligation to back Mr Yousaf, the numbers game at play here means she could technically hold the deciding vote.
Alex Salmond has spoken about his thoughts on this on Times Radio.
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations says today’s “political turmoil” in Holyrood can’t be allowed to distract from Scotland’s housing emergency.
They say there needs to be an “urgent reset” of the government’s affordable homes programme.
This all comes after three councils (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Argyll and Bute) all declared housing emergencies and after the government slashed its housing budget for 2024/25, including cutting £196 million from its affordable housing budget.
Sally Thomas, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said: “The turmoil we are seeing at Holyrood cannot distract from the real and present threat of Scotland’s housing emergency.
“Amid record homelessness and with 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation, the need for safe, warm and affordable rented homes grows ever greater.
“The First Minister has said that the end of the Bute House Agreement represents a ‘new beginning’ for the Scottish Government, and we’d therefore call for an urgent reset on the huge cut to the affordable housing supply programme which is already faltering due to a lack of investment.
“Irrespective of which political parties are in government, Scotland is in desperate need of more social homes - this can only be delivered through sustained public investment.”
While we wait to hear what the Scottish Greens are going to do about this no confidence vote, it’s a good time to ask you if you’ve signed up for The Steamie morning politics newsletter?
You can sign up to get this newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free every weekday morning here: https://www.scotsman.com/newsletter
It sets out the big talking points of the day, what ministers are up to, what is going on in Holyrood and Westminster each day, and some of the political highlights from the paper - what more could you want?
Neil Bibby, Labour MSP, with this amusing image depicting the rise and fall of the Bute House Agreement.
My understanding now is the Scottish Greens will hold a media huddle at around 5.30pm on what they are going to do with this no confidence vote in Humza Yousaf.
The Scottish Greens are meeting this afternoon to decide how they will vote in a motion of no confidence against Humza Yousaf.
They really do hold a lot of power here - if they decide to back Douglas Ross’s motion, then Humza Yousaf really is toast here.
We’re expecting an announcement on what they decide pretty soon - we’ll keep you updated.
Our Deputy Political Editor David Bol takes a look at what the implications could be for Humza Yousaf as he faces a no confidence vote.
The Scottish Parliament says it will tell MSPs what the impact of today will be on parliamentary business.
A spokesperson for the parliament said: “The implications of the ending of the Bute House Agreement on the management of parliamentary business will be considered and members will be informed of these changes in due course.”
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