Humza Yousaf quits as first minister of Scotland: what happens now?

Humza Yousaf has announced that he is stepping down as Scotland’s first minister, just over a year after he was elected.

What happens next?

The Scottish National party is facing its second shock leadership crisis in less than 18 months, after 20 years of stability and seamless transitions.

Yousaf has said that he will stay in place until a new party leader can be found, following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation route. When she held a similar press conference last February at Bute House, the official Edinburgh residence of Scottish first ministers, she announced it was her intention to step down, but only submitted her formal resignation as first minister to the king after the conclusion of the SNP’s leadership election, which took six weeks.

Yousaf said he had asked the SNP’s national secretary to commence a leadership election “as soon as possible”. He said he would remain in post until his successor was elected to ensure a “smooth and orderly transition”. Shortly after Yousaf’s statement, the SNP confirmed there would be a meeting of its national executive committee to decide the timetable of the leadership election later this week.

How will a new SNP leader be chosen?

According to the SNP’s constitution, a candidate for leader must have the nominations of at least 100 members, drawn from at least 20 branches, but details will need to be endorsed by the party’s national executive committee.

There are strong early indications that senior party figures will seek an experienced, unifying candidate to bring the party together after the recent chaos and guide it through this year’s general election and up to the Holyrood elections in 2026.

How will a new first minister be elected?

Once Yousaf has formally submitted his resignation to the king, the Holyrood parliament will vote to choose a new first minister via a simple majority.

Any MSP is allowed to stand for election: last April, as well as Yousaf, the leaders of the Scottish Tories, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Lib Dems all stood against him although the new SNP leader was nominated, winning 71 votes in total.

However, in the event that the new SNP leader was unable to command that majority, the Scottish parliament would be dissolved and a Holyrood election called.