Humza Yousaf resigns as First Minister in letter to the King

Humza Yousaf has formally resigned as First Minister resignation after just over a year in office.

He signed his resignation letter to the King in Holyrood on Tuesday morning.

His resignation has been accepted by the King and the Scottish Parliament has been notified.

Yousaf said he was "proud" of his record and that he "will continue to champion the rights and the voices of those who are often not heard" from the backbenches.

The MSP announced he would be standing down last week after the fallout from ending the Bute House Agreement with the Greens.

Yousaf will be succeeded by John Swinney, who took over as SNP leader yesterday.

Swinney will be voted in by MSPs later on Tuesday.

Yousaf said: “Being the First Minister of the country I love, the country I am raising my family in, and the only country I will ever call home has been a phenomenal honour.

“As a young Muslim boy, born and raised in Scotland, I could never have dreamt that one day I would have the privilege of leading my country – people who looked like me, were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading governments when I was younger.

“I am proud to have delivered a council tax freeze for households in every local authority in Scotland, invested record amounts in our National Health Service, removed peak fares on our railways, and approved plans for Europe’s largest floating offshore windfarm. And through our actions, an estimated 100,000 children are expected to be kept out of poverty this year.

“From the backbenches of the Scottish Parliament, I will continue to champion the rights and the voices of those who are often not heard, be they at home or abroad.”

The Glasgow Pollok MSP resigned as he faced a vote of no confidence in Holyrood.

The Greens had said they would back the motion to oust him, which would have left Yousaf reliant on Alba MSP Ash Regan to save him.

Yousaf became First Minister in March last year and had a difficult time in office.

He took over from Nicola Sturgeon, who had been in charge for nine years.

Shortly after he won the SNP leadership contest, the party's former chief executive and Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell was arrested as part of an investigation into the party's finances.

Party treasurer Colin Beattie and Sturgeon were arrested and released without charge. Murrell was charged with embezzlement last month.

Yousaf's time in office coincided with a drop in SNP support. At the same time Labour's backing increased, with several polls showing the SNP losing dozens of seats at the general election.

The party lost the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election by some distance in October.

Yousaf had previously served as health secretary, justice secretary and transport secretary.

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