The SNP government has headed off Labour’s attempt to force an early Holyrood election, as the frontrunners to succeed Humza Yousaf met for informal talks in an attempt to avoid another divisive leadership contest. Anas Sarwar’s motion of no confidence in Yousaf’s administration – which would have forced all government ministers to resign – was defeated by 70 votes to 58 on Wednesday afternoon after the Greens voted with the SNP. Last week the Scottish Greens said they would support another confidence motion in Yousaf himself, proposed by the Scottish Conservatives, in a backlash to Yousaf’s decision to unilaterally axe their governing partnership. With the SNP two short of a Holyrood majority, this left Yousaf unable to secure enough votes to win and on Monday he announced his intention to step down as first minister once a new party leader had been elected.
Wednesday’s result, which was met with relieved applause from the SNP benches, came after Sarwar argued it was “untenable” for the SNP to “impose yet another unelected first minister” on the country after the two previous leaders had departed “in controversy and chaos”. Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said his party had succeeded in forcing Yousaf out of government and later mocked reports that two potential contenders for the SNP leadership, John Swinney and Kate Forbes, were negotiating a deal as “a shady stitch-up to avoid another brutal and bloody leadership contest”. A spokesperson for Forbes confirmed that an “informal meeting” had taken place between the former leader and the former finance secretary on Tuesday, increasing speculation that Swinney will present himself as a unity candidate who can bring together different factions in time for the general election, but offering Forbes a senior role in his administration. Swinney is expected to make a statement about the leadership race at 10.30am on Thursday. On Wednesday evening, the SNP set out the timetable for electing a new leader. Nominations close on Monday at noon and – if there is more than one candidate – a ballot of the party membership will open on 13 May and close on 27 May. In his first remarks to the Holyrood chamber since Monday, Yousaf responded to Sarwar’s motion by telling MSPs that he was “exceptionally proud” of his government’s record. He said: “We choose progressive taxation, we choose to launch a 10-year just transition fund to support Scotland’s drive to net zero – where of course, Labour choose to ditch their £28bn green energy pledge. “Where Keir Starmer refused for months to call for an immediate ceasefire, even failing to condemn the collective punishment of the people of Gaza, I and the government I lead chose to be a voice of peace and humanity in the world.” The Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie praised Yousaf for his “immense dignity” when his in-laws were trapped in Gaza during Israeli bombardment last October. He said: “When global political events were impacting directly on his own family, Humza Yousaf rightly gained huge respect for speaking out for and in many cases humanising the people of Gaza, humanising the victims of collective punishment in a way that no other national leader I can think of was able to do.” But in a warning to the next SNP leader, he added: “A minority government must reach out and bring together a majority in parliament and for that to happen it will need to remain a progressive government.” Earlier in the day, in his first interview since his resignation, Yousaf told BBC Scotland he had “paid the price” for mishandling the ending of the Bute House agreement, but still believed that its conclusion was “the right thing to do for the party and the country”. He conceded that Harvie’s refusal to accept the Cass review as a valid scientific document had “upset a lot of people” in the SNP but said it was “not necessarily” a factor in ending the partnership.