Humza Yousaf is poised to resign as Scotland’s first minister before he faces two confidence votes this week, British media reported on Monday.
The BBC, The Times and other outlets said the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader was on the verge of quitting after a torrid few days.
Last week, the 39-year-old politician ended the SNP’s ruling coalition with the Scottish Greens in the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.
His government had earlier abandoned ambitious targets for the transition to net-zero carbon emissions, angering the Greens.
The opposition Scottish Conservatives then lodged a vote of no-confidence in Yousaf, which is due to be held as early as Wednesday.
Scottish Labour have lodged another no-confidence vote in his government.
Yousaf is by no means certain of winning, with the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats all saying they will vote against him.
The Greens have also repeatedly ruled out supporting him in a personal vote, forcing him to seek the support of the sole Alba party lawmaker.
Alba’s Ash Regan is a former SNP colleague of Yousaf who ran against him in the March 2023 leadership election to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as first minister.
Yousaf’s pro-independence SNP has 63 members in the 129-seat parliament — two short of a majority. The presiding officer has a casting vote.
Should he quit, parliament would have 28 days to choose a new first minister.
The Scottish Parliament, re-established in 1999, has limited powers to set policy in areas such as health, education, transport and the environment.
The UK government in London retains powers for countrywide issues such as defence and foreign policy.
