Live: Scottish Parliament reject no confidence vote in SNP government

Members of the Scottish Parliament have rejected Scottish Labour’s motion of no confidence in the SNP minority government.

The motion, proposed shortly before Humza Yousaf’s announcement that he will be standing down as First Minister, might have prompted a snap election in Holyrood if successful. We will be reporting live updates during the debate below.

Had the motion passed, ministers in the government would be forced to quit, with the parliament having 28 days to appoint a new First Minister. If they had been unable to do so, an election would be triggered.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has branded the SNP as a “dysfunctional, chaotic, divided” political party after a week of chaos, sparked by Yousaf’s decision to scrap the Bute House Agreement with the Green Party. Sarwar has called for voters to decide who should be Scotland’s next leader.

Although the motion had the support of the Scottish Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Greens voted against the proposal.

4.00pm: Who are the likely candidates to be the next SNP leader?

The leadership contest for the SNP looks set to be between two candidates – former finance secretary Kate Forbes and former Deputy First Minister and former SNP leader John Swinney.

While John Swinney leads the race for endorsements and is the bookies’ favourite, Kate Forbes had a slight lead among the Scottish public in a recent poll by YouGov – leading Swinney by six percent.

Neither Swinney or Forbes have officially announced their candidacy but both have said they are considering a bid for the leadership.

One other potential candidate has also been touted, culture secretary Angus Robertson. He was approached by some to run for the leadership after Nicola Sturgeon resigned last year, but said that the time was not right for him. He has yet to make his intentions known for the upcoming contest.

3.30pm: Motion of no confidence fails to pass

MSPs have voted against the motion of no confidence put forward by Scottish Labour against the SNP minority government. 58 MSPs voted to back Labour’s motion, but 70 MSPs voted against.

Labour received the support of the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and seemingly Ash Regan of Alba, while the SNP and Greens voted against the motion.

3:25pm: Jack McConnell on how Scottish Labour can rise above chaos

In a piece for LabourList, former First Minister Jack McConnell wrote about how Scottish voters are calling out for an election and said that Labour needs to offer a “fresh start”.

He said: “Scottish Labour has a charismatic modern leader but there are large parts of Scotland where nationalism has developed deep roots. Scottish Labour needs to build support right across the country persuading people that it has the ambition to change the country, and their lives, for the better.”

Read the full piece here.

3:17pm: Greens pay tribute to Yousaf

Green co-leader Patrick Harvie paid tribute to Humza Yousaf’s time in office and said that Labour’s vote of no confidence is “chaos for the sake of chaos”.

3.08pm: Yousaf defends record in office

In response, First Minister Humza Yousaf has thanked members for their messages after announcing his resignation and defended the SNP’s record in office. He also went on the attack and slammed Labour’s “lack of substance and hypocrisy”.

3.00pm: ‘Scotland needs credible leadership’

Anas Sarwar has started the debate by saying Scotland requires “credible and effective leadership” and hit out at the two potential candidates for the SNP leadership. He criticised John Swinney’s record in government and that Kate Forbes risks causing more chaos in Holyrood.

He said: “The SNP as a political party are so chaotic, divided and dysfunctional that it can’t deliver competent government and is failing Scots every single day.”

2.55pm: Debate gets underway

The debate on Labour’s no confidence vote has just got started in the Scottish Parliament. You can watch the debate live here.

2:45pm: What is the current make-up of the Scottish Parliament?

The SNP hold 63 seats in the Scottish Parliament, two seats short of the 65 needed for a majority. The Conservatives are the largest opposition party with 31 seats, with Labour holding 22, the Greens 7 and four for the Liberal Democrats.

Ash Regan, who was elected as an SNP MSP, has since defected to Alba.

With the support of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, Labour’s Anas Sarwar can expect around 57 MSPs to back their motion of no confidence – eight short of the number needed to pass.

2:25pm: ‘Scotland deserves better’, says Sarwar

In an interview with STV News ahead of today’s no confidence vote, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that the SNP government is “failing Scots every single day”, particularly on the NHS and the cost of living crisis.

He said: “That hasn’t changed and it won’t change by just changing the person at the top.”

Sarwar also hit out at the “democratic deficit” of another change of leader – the SNP’s third in just over a year.

The SNP is chaotic, divided and dysfunctional at a time when our country needs competent government and leadership.

Scotland deserves better. pic.twitter.com/w2qORLDjKh

— Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) May 1, 2024