THE Scottish Greens have saved Humza Yousaf’s government just two days after he was forced to resign as First Minister and leader of the SNP over his botched break-up with them.

In the aftermath of Mr Yousaf’s decision to withdraw from his coalition agreement with the Greens, motions of no confidence in him and his government as a whole were moved by the Tories and Scottish Labour respectively.

His resignation speech on Monday left only the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s attempt to spark an early Holyrood election on the order paper.

Mr Sarwar argued that “the SNP as a political party is so chaotic, divided and dysfunctional, that it can’t deliver competent government and is failing Scots every day.” 

He said: “I don’t believe changing the face at the top is going to change that.”

In a damning swing at the likely SNP leadership contenders, he told the chamber: “There are already SNP ministers briefing journalists that if Kate Forbes was to become leader they would actively look to stop her being able to form a government — that would be even more chaos.

“And John Swinney — the man who has been at the heart of the SNP government for the last 17 years, the heart of the SNP leadership for the last 40 years.

“The finance secretary that broke the public finances and the worst education secretary in the history of the Scottish Parliament.

“Hardly the competence or the change our country needs.”

Comparing the SNP to PM Rishi Sunak’s Tories, he continued:  “Two political parties, chaotic, divided, dysfunctional, unleadable, ungovernable, incompetent, distracted by internal wars, distant from the people’s priorities and unable to fix the mess of their own making.”

Confident of Green support to defeat the Labour motion, which was backed by the Tories and Liberal Democrats, the outgoing First Minister hit back: “As a government, I am exceptionally proud of our choices.

“Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, both chose to retain the two-child limit, the rape clause. The SNP government opposes it.

“Labour chooses to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses but not lift the cap on child benefits. The SNP choose differently.”

He concluded: “In the 13 months I’ve been blessed to be First Minister, I haven’t heard a single positive idea from Anas Sarwar or Labour.

“What I have heard is the deafening sound of principle after principle being thrown out of Anas Sarwar’s window.”

The vote of no confidence was defeated by 70 votes to 58, with no abstentions.