The Scottish Government are facing a no confidence debate in Holyrood today. 

Tabled by Anas Sarwar last week following the end of the Bute House Agreement – and at the height of instability for the Government – the motion will be pressed despite First Minister Humza Yousaf’s decision to announce he will step down.

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If passed by MSPs, the motion would compel the First Minister to resign immediately under the terms of the Scotland Act, with Holyrood given 28 days to elect a new First Minister before an election is called.

While unlikely to pass – due to the likelihood the Scottish Greens will abstain – it will gain the support of the Tories and Lib Dems.

Glasgow Times: Anas Sarwar

Speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday, Mr Sarwar said he wanted to use the motion to highlight the need for a Holyrood election following the turmoil in the SNP.

He added that the “genie was out of the bottle” for the SNP, adding: “I think this is a dysfunctional, chaotic, divided political party.”

The decision to press ahead with the vote, he said, was a “point of principle”, adding: “We also want to highlight the democratic deficit as they themselves described it when they were talking about Westminster and the Conservatives.

Mr Sarwar said he was “desperate” for a Scottish election alongside a Westminster one, which will be held later this year, adding his party was “ready for elections”.

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Meanwhile, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross withdrew a motion of no confidence in the First Minister following his decision to stand down.

Declaring “job done”, Mr Ross added: “I’m delighted that the Scottish Conservative motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf achieved its purpose by forcing him to resign.

“While, on a personal level, I wish him well for the future, he was a disaster as First Minister and it’s in Scotland’s interests that he goes.”

The motion comes at the end of a tumultuous week in Scottish politics, with the collapse of the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Greens sparking a chain of events which led to the First Minister’s resignation.