The prospect of Scots heading to the polls twice this year has intensified as Labour and the Lib Dems stepped up demands for Humza Yousaf to resign.

Both parties have called for the SNP to accept the First Minister no longer has authority in the Scottish Parliament and a Holyrood election must now be called.

It would mean Scots voting in a Holyrood and Westminster poll in the same year for the first time.

The embattled SNP leader last week wrote to each party represented at Holyrood in a desperate bid to win support and prevent his administration from collapsing.

Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, said today: "This SNP government is collapsing before our eyes and no dodgy deals with Alex Salmond can save Humza Yousaf’s job.

"It’s clearly a matter of when, not if, Humza Yousaf goes – but that is not enough. This chaotic and divided SNP government has lost its way and cannot deliver for the people of Scotland.

"The people of Scotland deserve a chance to elect their next First Minister and choose change.

"Scottish Labour is ready to fight an election and deliver the change Scotland desperately needs."

In a letter to the First Minister, Scots Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Successful minority administration must be rooted in compromise and a spirit of mutual trust with other parties.

"However, your actions this past week have eroded entirely any remaining trust that you enjoyed across the chamber.

"They suggest that rather than being motivated by the national interest, you are presently motivated only by your own self-interest and by political survival.

"After 17 years in power it is clear that your government’s priorities are not the people’s priorities. People can’t get a doctor’s appointment or see an NHS dentist; our schools are tumbling down the international rankings and you have abandoned Scotland’s climate targets.

"You have made life harder for business and islanders still don’t have the lifeline ferries they so desperately need.

"Yet still, you spend an unforgivable amount of ministerial attention and public money on fomenting constitutional division.

"Put simply, you have run out of road. It’s time to put the national interest first, resign the office of First Minister and call a Scottish Parliamentary Election so that the people of Scotland can determine the future of both our Parliament and our country."

Alex Cole-Hamilton
Alex Cole-Hamilton

It comes as Yousaf faces two votes of no confidence in both him and his Government this week.

The First Minister can count on 63 votes from SNP MSPs but he must find support from at least one other party if he is to avoid a humiliating defeat.

His Government was plunged into crisis last week after he terminated the Bute House Agreement between the Nationalists and the Greens.

The powersharing deal had been stretched to breaking point after a key climate change target was ditched - infuriating rank-and-file members of the environmentalists.

But the sudden nature of the decision to end the Bute House deal last Thursday left Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater furious.

The depth of anger among the Greens has caught Yousaf and his Cabinet by surprise.

Harvie and Slater have repeatedly insisted they will now support the first motion of no confidence in Yousaf himself.

It comes despite Ian Blackford, the SNP's former Westminster leader, offering the Greens an apology while he appeared on the BBC's flagship Sunday politics programme.

The MP said the end of the powersharing deal "could have happened in a different way, but we are where we are."

Scottish Green Party co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie speaking to the media at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh, after First Minister Humza Yousaf terminated the Bute House agreement with immediate effect. Picture date: Thursday April 25, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS ButeHouse. Photo credit should read: Lesley Martin/PA Wire
Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie face the media after their sacking on Thursday

But the Greens have shown no sign of backing down.

Slater later indicated her party will not be changing its mind about supporting the upcoming motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf.

"I cannot imagine anything at this point that could change that position," she said. "This was a spectacular breach of trust.”

She continued: “(The Bute House Agreement) was based on mutual trust and respect. I do have trust and respect for many of my SNP colleagues.

“But Humza Yousaf himself has broken that and he needs to face the consequences.”

Slater added: "I imagine many of their progressive members are as horrified as we are by some of the reactionary elements in the party, some of the climate-denying elements of the party, people who don’t believe in equalities and human rights.

"I reach out to those members, the Scottish Greens will always be a progressive party for an independent Scotland and it may be that your home is with us, you’d be welcome."

The timing of the no confidence motions will be decided on Tuesday, but insiders expect them to be voted on by Wednesday or Thursday.

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