A SCOTTISH Green MSP has welcomed Humza Yousaf’s admission that he “f***ed up” in sacking their party from government, a move which ultimately resulted in his resignation as first minister.
Speaking in front of a crowd at the Edinburgh Fringe on Thursday, the former SNP leader reflected on the decision to sack Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater and end the governing “Bute House Agreement” between the two parties.
Yousaf had been pressured into the move amid unrest from the SNP backbenches and Green membership resulting from the Scottish Government ditching a climate target and differing responses to the controversial “Cass Review” into trans healthcare.
In response, the Greens said they would back a motion of no confidence in his premiership, effectively forcing Yousaf’s resignation after just over a year in the job.
Appearing at an Edinburgh Festival Fringe event with broadcaster Matthew Stadlen on Thursday, the former first minister said: “The miscalculation I made is, you tend to make your mistakes when you think like a politician in a political bubble and you forget the human dimension.
“What I did, in my miscalculation was to go, well, the Greens rely so heavily on the SNP for the list vote, if they vote against the SNP Government, and the SNP first minister, it will be political suicide.
“Of course, the human dimension, which you must always think about, is you’re bringing in two of your ministers into Bute House and sacking them very publicly, and they are going to react very badly to that.”
He added: “I always said to myself, when I entered politics, that there were two things worth trying to do. One is never trade my principles or values, the other is when it’s time to go, own your mistakes that you make.
“Look, I frankly, f***** up.”
In the hours before his resignation, it was reported that Yousaf was in talks with the Alba Party to secure the vote of its lone MSP Ash Regan – who defected from the SNP under his leadership.
But he told the crowd such a deal would have been “impossible”, saying there was “no way” he would help in “rehabilitating Alex Salmond in the political sphere”.
Speaking to The National on Friday, Green MSP Maggie Chapman welcomed the admission from Yousaf that he “f***ed up”.
She said: “I think in some ways it's quite nice to see a senior politician admitting he made a mistake. That's rare.
“Maybe the world would be a better place if people could admit mistakes and not be punished for those admissions.”
Chapman went on: “I think the last few months have been interesting – is that the best way to put it – in Scottish politics.
“I'm sorry the Bute House Agreement ended the way it did, but it did. We as Greens, now we are in opposition, we will make the most of that as best we can.”
Speaking after Yousaf’s appearance at the event, Scottish Green Party co-leader Slater said: “We respect a lot of the work that he did as first minister, particularly when it came to his commitment to social justice and his response to the genocide in Gaza.
“But we could not back him after he had caved in to some of the most reactionary elements of his party.
“How could we trust that he would remain committed to the Green policies that were part of a deal he had just walked away from, such as rent controls and a ban on conversion practices?”
