Humza Yousaf, the First Minister of Scotland, will resign his position imminently, according to a report from The Times of London.
Yousaf, who leads the far-left, pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), had previously pledged to fight on after his government collapsed but has now acknowledged that there is no way forward.
The Times reports:
Humza Yousaf is preparing to quit as Scotland’s first minister after coming to the conclusion that his position is no longer tenable. Senior SNP figures have been told the nationalist leader decided over the weekend that there is no way for him to survive this week’s vote of no confidence and he may stand down on Monday.
It comes as Yousaf struggles to put together a coalition of MSPs that would keep him in office after he sacked the Scottish Greens from government. A close friend said: “Humza knows what’s best for the country and the party. He is first party activist and a party man, and that’s why he knows it’s time for someone else.”
A British Pakistani and practising Muslim, Yousaf notoriously gave a speech back in 2020 at the height of the Black Lives Matter riots where he complained about the number of white people in positions of power.
Just last month, he approved legislation implementing new “hate speech” laws intended to crack down on free speech and conservative opposition to progressive ideology. The move later backfired when thousands of people flooded the hate crime tip lines with reports of his own anti-white speech.
Having voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in 2014, Scotland remains subject to the British parliament. However, its government maintains autonomy on various policy issues ranging from healthcare to education as part of a devolution agreement signed by former Prime Minister David Cameron.