Scotland’s First Minister resigns — RT World News

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf announced his resignation on Monday during a press conference in Edinburgh. He came to power just over a year ago.

Johnson (39 years old) resigned from his position after his decision to end the power-sharing agreement between the pro-independence Scottish National Party and the Green Party due to a disagreement over climate change goals. Youssef had hoped to lead a minority government, but the opposition parties indicated that they would not support him, as two parties proposed a vote of no confidence. The Green Party also said they would not support the First Minister.

Youssef said in the press conference that he was “Totally possible” He could have won a vote of confidence by making a deal, but he was not willing to abandon his principles just to cling to power. He added that he would remain as First Minister until the Scottish National Party chose his replacement.

The Scottish Parliament now has 28 days to choose a new First Minister before an election is held.

The resignation makes Youssef the shortest serving SNP leader since Scotland got its own government in 1998. He was also the first Muslim head of government in modern Western Europe and the first Muslim to lead a major party in the United Kingdom.

Youssef is a supporter of Scotland separating from the United Kingdom and rejoining the European Union as an independent country. Last year, he signed a new strategy that stipulated that the Scottish National Party would begin immediate negotiations with the British government regarding Scotland’s exit from the United Kingdom if the party won a majority of Scottish seats in the general elections. Voting is expected to take place in the second half of this year.

In June, he said that if Scotland gained independence from the UK, it would move to rejoin the European Union. Youssef claimed that the Scots chose to remain within the UK in the 2014 referendum, but faced with the reality of post-Brexit Britain, there is a renewed sense of cutting ties with London and looking towards Brussels.

Youssef's wife, Nadia, is of Palestinian origin. The First Minister's wife's family remained trapped in Gaza for four weeks last fall after they went there to visit relatives.

In January, the Scottish National Party leader said Israel's actions in Gaza were actions “It is considered ethnic cleansing” He said that the UK government's refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was unacceptable “shameful.” He also repeatedly called on London to stop arms sales to Israel.