The Very Meh Humza Yousaf Thread.

[NorthernLights]

 

[Michael W]

On 22/04/2024 at 19:06, DeeTillEhDeh said:

If the Bute House agreement collapses he might just be.

Fair play to him here, tbh. Didn't think he'd have the backbone to terminate it himself. 

[ICTChris]

Apparently Humza just binned them off, no vote. 

 

[Lex]

This should - in theory at least - lead to a snap Scottish Parliamentary election. The SNP running a minority administration under an unelected First Minister can't be sustainable for another two years. I suspect Humza will try and brass neck it for as long as he can right enough, before the inevitable happens. 

[Mr Waldo]

Patrick Harvie said he'd resign as co-leader if the Greens voted to leave. Does this give him a get-out and he could stay?

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Feel like there should be an election now, a first minister who wasnt leader when the last election was called, a failing administration and too many scandals that public confidence cant be a given. 

[Dunning1874]

Question is if it makes Yousaf look weaker or stronger in reality. This ostensibly looks better by avoiding the ignominy of the Greens being the ones to end it and the impression of a junior partner abandoning a flatlining government, but if he just feels like he had to do this to avoid looking weak because of the way the wind was blowing with the Greens likely to ditch it when he didn't want to, then he's already a lame duck who isn't in control even before considering he's now more dependent on keeping backbenchers onside.

Taking the decision unilaterally rather than having a vote of SNP MSPs or even the cabinet when the Greens were going to have a vote of their whole membership is again something that you could see being held up as an example of him being decisive and strong, but could just as easily look desperate in an attempt to get it done before they could be the ones to ditch it first.

[MP_MFC]

Is it not the case that with the Scottish Parliament they literally can't just call an election, there are very specific rules on the length of terms and when the elections can take place?

edited to add: aye, it can only be held every five years.

Date of elections to the Scottish Parliament

The Scotland Act 1998 sets out the procedures for the holding of Scottish Parliament elections. Section 2 requires a Scottish Parliament election to be held on the first Thursday in May in the fifth calendar year following the previous Scottish Parliament election.

There are a number of possible situations in which it might prove necessary for the date of a scheduled Scottish Parliament election to change. One possibility is that a UK Parliament General election is called on the date in question. Under the Scotland Act, this would automatically require a new date to be arranged for the Scottish Parliament election. The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 means that a UK Parliamentary election can be announced at short notice on the decision of the Prime Minister (25 working days following the proclamation dissolving the existing Parliament).

Other possible examples that might require a change in date include a public health emergency or major security incident.

The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament has a limited power to propose a new date for the poll for a Scottish Parliament election which is not more than one month before or after the first Thursday in May.

Edited April 25 by MP_MFC

[Lex]

Be funny if it was Paddy Harvie who brought a motion of no confidence in the administration and brought the house down with him as he leaves government. There are more non SNP MSP's than SNP MSP's in the chamber after all, it would certainly pass if the Greens voted for it.  Time to go to the polls. 

[superbigal]

At last the balls to get rid of that loathsome Slater creature

[Dunning1874]

Reminder that the Scottish Parliament has set five year election cycles. A no confidence vote leading to an imminent election wouldn't mean bringing the May 2026 election forward, it would be in addition to it. While if it came to a confidence vote Labour & Tories couldn't do anything but vote no, introducing one in the first place lays a trap that it's probably not worth anyone's while to risk even in the outlandish scenario the Greens were to go so far as to support one themselves.

Labour fully believe they're going to be the largest party in Holyrood come 2026 and polling suggests there's a real chance of it, even before we see how Yousaf does with a 63-65 split in the parliament rather than 71-57 in hos favour. Why risk taking a knock in polling in the intervening years by making themselves an unpopular incumbent going into that election, for the sake of getting two years in minority government rather than five? Even if a Starmer government at Westminster has already turned unpopular by May 2026 they'll still be able to use opposition status at Holyrood to their advantage, but if they'd been the government for two years as well they'd have nowhere to hide and the NHS, ferries, drug death sticks they're beating the SNP with now could be turned back against them. The Tories would be throwing away 10+ seats and being the second largest party two years sooner than needed.

While Ash Regan is probably stupid enough to think she'd keep her seat Alba's one MSP won't be enough, and even those SNP backbenchers who evidently can't stand Yousaf like Ewing aren't daft enough to make themselves known as the people who put their own party out of government.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Good fucking riddance to the Greens - but should have done it when he was elected.

Edited April 25 by DeeTillEhDeh

[betting competition]

It'll be intriguing to see if the SNP can push anything through, such as the budget. They did pull it off in 2007, I guess, when they were the minority government. However, there seems to be much more animosity towards the SNP these days, so I doubt any party will lend a hand in passing the budget.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

4 minutes ago, betting competition said:

It'll be intriguing to see if the SNP can push anything through, such as the budget. They did pull it off in 2007, I guess, when they were the minority government. However, there seems to be much more animosity towards the SNP these days, so I doubt any party will lend a hand in passing the budget.

The other parties don't want an election either.

There will be compromises as ever - it's not as if there hasn't been minority administrations before.

[houston_bud]

He should've got rid of the Greens weeks ago, this was always likely to happen. If he had, he might have come out with a bit of credibility with the wider public.

Also, is it just me or does Yousaf sound so patronising when he speaks? Like someone who's gone into a primary school to talk about their job. I've just had to turn the radio off. For a career politician who'll have had no end of media training, he's not very good at it.

[AyrExile]

With friends like these who needs enemies. A shameful dumping of the gardening wing with not even a vote to make it look like a unified decision. Humza seems to have forgotten one chunk of his party runs seamlessly into green territory. Surely Forbes or the skull can't be too far away from putting Humza out his own misery 

[DeeTillEhDeh]

2 minutes ago, AyrExile said:

With friends like these who needs enemies. A shameful dumping of the gardening wing with not even a vote to make it look like a unified decision. Humza seems to have forgotten one chunk of his party runs seamlessly into green territory. Surely Forbes or the skull can't be too far away from putting Humza out his own misery 

Hopefully.

[ICTChris]

 

[Biscuits]

Nope.  That's me done.  Labour for me next time

[Dunning1874]

Slater's certainly not holding back, but there's an obvious inconsistency here as well: if you feel you were "let down time and time again" by the SNP failing to hold up their end of the agreement, why did you still believe staying in government was the best course of action and how often would they have had to let you down to change that?