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Scotland’s embattled first minister Humza Yousaf is entering a crunch week as the pro-independence Alba party prepares to issue terms for supporting him in a no-confidence vote.
The Scottish National party leader has rejected a suggestion from Alex Salmond’s breakaway Alba for an electoral pact to prop up his government, people familiar with his stance said.
Yousaf is battling to save his ministerial career after he last week tore up a power-sharing deal between the pro-independence SNP and the Greens.
The Greens subsequently said they would back a no-confidence vote brought against Yousaf by the Scottish Conservatives that is expected to take place this week.
Scottish Labour has also brought a no-confidence motion against the Scottish government, as opposed to Yousaf as first minister, in a bid to force an election at Holyrood.
Yousaf’s team held talks with Green MSPs on Sunday, with more scheduled, but the chances of patching up the relationship are slender, people briefed on the discussions said.
But Alba is preparing to discuss terms for securing the position of Yousaf and his government ahead of the no confidence votes.
Salmond said Ash Regan, the only Alba MSP, would bring “reasonable proposals” on issues such as independence and jobs to talks with Yousaf that, if accepted, would help him “get out of a tight political corner”.
“[Regan] will take with her some very reasonable, positive proposals which, hopefully, if the first minister accepts them, will help him get out of a tight political corner,” Salmond told the BBC.
The SNP has 63 seats in the Scottish parliament, while opposition parties have a combined total of 65.
It means Yousaf would need to secure the vote of at least one opposition MSP to shore up his position and prevent his government collapsing.
Talks with Regan have yet to be organised, but work should start soon, one person familiar with the situation said.
The conversations could cover various issues, including her position on gender identity, but concessions for her vote on the no confidence motions would not come “at any price”, the person added.
Regan would also have to consider how she — an avowed nationalist — would be able to justify bringing down an independence-supporting first minister alongside unionist parties and the Greens, with which she has multiple policy disagreements, the person said.
The prospect of co-operating with Alba, which was launched by Salmond in 2021, is challenging for Yousaf. He has admitted hurt about his working relationship with Salmond breaking down.
Regan last year quit the SNP for Alba in protest at former first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s planned legislation concerning self-identification on gender. At the time, Yousaf characterised Regan’s defection as “no great loss”.
Labour is hoping to take advantage of the SNP turmoil to win a string of seats from the pro-independence party at the general election expected this year — and so boost its chances of forming the next UK government.
Ian Blackford MP, former Westminster leader of the SNP, appealed to the Greens to reverse their decision to support the no confidence vote in Yousaf.
Blackford apologised for the way the power-sharing agreement between the SNP and the Greens was ended.
“We could have handled this in a different way,” he told the BBC. “The first minister has apologised for the hurt [Green co-leaders] Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater feel.”
Yousaf’s decision to ditch the power-sharing agreement with the Greens was an attempt to reset his leadership with a tilt towards the centre ground, after pressure from colleagues who believed his government’s progressive agenda would damage the SNP at the general election and at a Holyrood poll in 2026.
Harvie’s refusal to accept the findings of a review which criticised the use of puberty blockers for transgender children triggered a collapse in relations between the SNP and the Greens.
The Greens this month called for a vote on the future of the power-sharing agreement after Yousaf’s government ditched its 2030 emissions reduction target.
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