The Scottish Greens join the Tories, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in declaring their intention to vote against First Minister Humza Yousaf in the wake of his decision to govern as a minority administration.
Thursday 25 April 2024 17:23, UK
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The balance of power in Scotland potentially hangs with former SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan, our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies says.
Sky News understands the Scottish Greens will not support Humza Yousaf in a confidence vote next week, something Gillies describes as an “extraordinary twist in what has been an extraordinary couple of hours”.
Scottish Labour and the Scottish Lib Dems have already confirmed they will not support the first minister remaining in post.
The balance of power now hangs, potentially, with Alba Party MP Ash Regan, Gillies says.
“She was a familiar face during the SNP electoral contest of just 12 months ago, she stood on that platform against Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes and fell out dramatically with the party in the months after that and she defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party,” he says.
“Well now it looks like she could be making the decision about the future of the man that the stood on the same platform against to run as SNP leader last year.”
He says he has spoken to Ms Regan in the last few minutes and she said she would be making a set of demands to Mr Yousaf about what it would mean for her to agree to support the first minister.
By Connor Gillies, Scotland correspondent
The Scottish Greens will not support Scotland’s first minister in a confidence vote next week after they were sacked as government ministers earlier today, Sky News understands.
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie is expected to make the announcement at 5.30pm.
His party was forced out of government by the SNP leader, who said the power-sharing pact had “served its purpose” and was “no longer guaranteeing a stable arrangement in parliament”.
Sky sources say there is serious anger among the ousted Greens and it is expected they will not back Mr Yousaf in a Scottish Tory-led push to oust him from power next week.
Scottish Labour and the Scottish Lib Dems have already confirmed they will not support the first minister remaining in post.
The SNP have 63 seats in the Scottish parliament.
The Scottish Conservatives have 31, Scottish Labour have 22, the Scottish Greens have seven and and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have four – a combined number of 64.
There is also one Alba Party MSP and a presiding officer of no party affiliation.
If Mr Yousaf loses the vote he will not automatically have to resign, but he would be under huge pressure to do so.
The UK’s treaty with Rwanda has been ratified, the Home Office has announced.
Rishi Sunak’s controversial Rwanda bill finally became law today after receiving royal assent.
“This is another major step towards the first flight leaving,” the Home Office said.
Earlier, the prime minister’s spokesperson said an initial cohort of people who will be put on flights to the African nation had been identified and the first flight booked (see 12.33 post).
Labour should go further in its plans and commit to renationalising private companies that lease out trains for Britain’s railways, a public ownership campaign group has said.
Earlier this morning Labour pledged to nationalise the railways within its first term, if elected.
Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at We Own It, said: “It’s time to decommission the gravy train.
“Public transport is a vital public service that should be accountable to the public and run for passengers, not private profit.
“With delays and cancellations rife and some of the most expensive fares in Europe, polls show that over two-thirds of us want our railways to be brought into public hands.
“Labour have rightly identified that the ownership of our public services will be a key issue for voters at this election.
“If Labour is serious about preventing leaking profits, they should go further and commit to renationalising the rolling stock companies [Roscos] to prevent hundreds of millions of pounds going out in profits. Rosco profits tripled to £409.7m last year alone.”
By Daniel Dunford, senior data journalist
There might not be a general election just yet, but there are important votes that will define how the areas around us are run for the next four years.
See what’s happening where you are here:
The government has issued new sanctions targeting Iranian individuals and businesses “closely involved” in Iran’s network of drone production.
Two people linked to the country’s network of drone production will be subjected to a UK travel ban and asset freeze, while four companies will face a UK asset freeze.
It comes after Iran launched an unprecedented wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel on 13 April.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said: “The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region.
“Today the UK and our partners have sent a clear message – we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilising behaviour to account.
“Alongside our partners, we will continue to tighten the net on Iran’s ability to develop and export these deadly weapons.”
The government is “committed” to banning conversion therapy despite delays, an equalities minister has said.
Stuart Andrew told the Commons it is a “very challenging issue to get right” but added the government is clear the practice is “abhorrent”.
A ban on conversion practices, which aim to suppress or change a person’s sexual orientation, was first promised by former prime minister Theresa May in 2018.
Labour’s shadow minister Ashley Dalton had accused the government of not being able to make up its mind and of kicking the issue into the long grass.
Mr Andrew replied: “No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at so-called conversion practices are abhorrent.
“And we’re clear on our stance, that they are harmful and they simply do not work.
“And that’s why we are committed to publishing the draft Bill, I know it’s taken time but it’s been a very challenging issue to get right and I am committed to us doing it.”
Earlier this year a Conversion Practices (Prohibition) Bill, tabled by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Labour MP for Brighton, Kemptown, in a bid to ban offering or advertising the controversial practices, was blocked by MPs.
During the bill’s debate on 1 March, equalities minister Maria Caulfield said the government intended to bring forward draft legislation following the Cass Review, which was published on 10 April.
By Connor Gillies, Scotland correspondent
This is absolutely explosive stuff here in Scotland today.
This is a first minister in Humza Yousaf who just two days ago was telling Sky News that he was wanting the pact with the Greens to continue.
It’s all been rosy in the garden for a long time between the two parties, but things started to deteriorate in the last couple of weeks, first over the Cass report and then the big moment when the Scottish government ditched one of their key climate targets.
At that point, the writing was on the wall.
Green Party members were furious and called a vote on their future role themselves, which was due to take place in the next couple of weeks.
It could be said Mr Yousaf saw what was potentially coming and decided to take charge of the issue, rather than facing humiliation of the Greens taking themselves out of that arrangement.
But now the SNP will run a minority government here at Holyrood, and we’ve had confirmation the first minister will face a no confidence vote next week, the ramifications of which could be huge.
Labour have confirmed to Sky News they will back that motion. The Liberal Democrats will do the same.
And the Greens, who are absolutely furious, are due to meet before the end of the working day to discuss how they will vote.
So has this backfired on Mr Yousaf today, who was trying to get on the front foot to try and save his reputation in what has been a really difficult couple of months?
Could it all end in jeopardy? We’ll soon see.
By Nick Stylianou, communities producer
More than 115,000 asylum seekers will be trapped in “permanent limbo” by the end of the year as a result of the government’s flagship migration plans, according to a detailed study by the Refugee Council.
The effect of the Rwanda plan will cause the already-struggling UK asylum system to go into “meltdown”, said chief executive Enver Solomon.
He claimed the plans would cause “immense cost, chaos and human misery” and “any government that wants a fair and efficient asylum system should repeal the legislation, stop wasting resources on futile endeavours and focus on the vital task of processing asylum claims promptly and fairly”.
Under the current laws, anyone entering the country illegally – such as by small boat across the Channel – is banned from applying for asylum as their cases are deemed “inadmissible” and the home secretary must arrange for their removal.
However, the report by the UK’s leading asylum seeker charity concludes that “in reality, only a small proportion” are likely to ever be sent back to their own country or Rwanda.
The Refugee Council estimates, based on the average number of people arriving illegally over the past two years, only about 2,000 people will be flown to Rwanda by the start of 2025.
The rest will be left relying indefinitely on Home Office support or disappear underground.
Its analysis of Home Office figures sets out that, at the end of 2024, at least 105,309 “men, women and children” will be eligible to be removed and only 9,478 of those will be qualified to be returned to their own country.
Further calculations by the charity warned the impact of the three immigration laws passed by the government – the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the Safety of Rwanda Bill – are likely to cost taxpayers up to £6.2bn a year in accommodation costs alone as a result of people unable to be removed.
The Home Office confirmed 6,667 people crossed the Channel so far this year, with 402 making the journey successfully yesterday – the day five people died while attempting the same.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government’s asylum policy “is a farce” and Labour’s plan relied on recruiting 2,000 extra Home Office staff to work on processing and returning people.
She accused ministers of choosing “gimmick over grip”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are removing thousands of illegal migrants to their country of origin.
“Many of this cohort will be in scope for removal to Rwanda, which is an uncapped scheme, and can expect to be served removal notices in due course.”
Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said the collapse of the power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens today is a “pretty bitter divorce”.
Speaking on Sky News’ latest Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Tory peer says: “This isn’t a conscious uncoupling like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. I mean, this is a proper a bitter doozy.”
She says it will be “really interesting” to see whether the Greens are “so angry” that they vote with other opposition parties in Holyrood, having previously been “pretty willing allies of the SNP”.
“It will be really interesting as we go forward to find out whether they want to exact revenge or whether they’re going to be more independent-minded than they have previously been in previous parliaments,” she says.
Earlier, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said the SNP can no longer rely on its votes in parliament after First Minister Humza Yousaf terminated the deal (see post at 1.31pm).
Mr Yousaf will now lead a minority government (see post at 10.16am).
Ruth says the move was a “sign of weakness” from Mr Yousaf.
“He had to pull the trigger before he was dumped,” she says.
You can hear Ruth’s comments in full on Sky News’ latest Electoral Dysfunction podcast – out at 6am tomorrow.
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Email Beth, Jess, and Ruth at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.
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