Humza Yousaf’s biggest mistake

A word of advice for anyone with ambitions to hold high political office: if you think you might ever need the assistance of your opponents, don’t allow your party to repeatedly abuse them. This wisdom comes too late for it to be of use to Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf, who has accepted the inevitable and announced his resignation this afternoon.

Fighting for his career after his decision to tear up the Holyrood power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens blew up in his face, the First Minister spent the weekend reaching out across party lines. His aim was to see off a vote of no confidence, tabled by the Scottish Tories and loudly supported by opposition parties, including those Greens. Unsurprisingly, Yousaf’s attempts to build bridges failed. His opponents’ glee at his misery, however, tells a deeper story about the state of Scottish politics.