The Scottish Conservatives will lodge a motion for a vote of no confidence in First Minister Humza Yousaf, the party’s leader has said.
Douglas Ross told MSPs at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood his party had said from the start that the Bute House powersharing agreement between the SNP and the Greens was a “coalition of chaos” and that it had now “ended in chaos”.
He said: “I can confirm today that on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives I am lodging a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf.”
Earlier Mr Yousaf insisted he did “not regret” continuing the Bute House Agreement when he became First Minister just over a year ago.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross to lodge no confidence motion in Humza Yousaf
READ MORE: Harvie adds to speculation over Yousaf's leadership as pact ends
And he said Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater should “be proud of the service they have given” in the Scottish Government.
But he said the agreement between their two parties had “served its purpose” and it was “time for the SNP to navigate the rest of the parliamentary term as a minority government”.
Speaking about this Mr Yousaf accepted: “It will be hard, it will be tough, there’s no doubt about that.”
But he said the SNP would look to cooperate with other parties on an issue-by-issue basis, as he added: “There has been a feeling the Bute House Agreement has almost come to its natural conclusion.”
The First Minister added the Scottish Government will now “step up its ambition but we will do so as a minority government”.
“That will be tough,” he added. “We will seek to work, not just with the Scottish Greens but with MSPs from across the chamber.
“The SNP has of course governed as a minority for most of our time in office.”
Mr Yousaf added: “The SNP needs the freedom and the flexibility to ensure that we move Scotland forward and adapt to that changing world.
“We need to speak to the country with one voice, our voice, and as such I am clear that today marks a new beginning for the SNP government.”
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