First minister cancels event as Strathclyde University as he faces no confidence vote
Stephen Flynn is viewed by some people as the most talented politician in the SNP and, in his interview on the Today programme, he was asked if he would stand for the leadership if Humza Yousaf were to resign. He replied:
I have been asked this question previously the last time there was a leadership contest in the Scottish National party, and I was very clear in my view that I believe that the party leader should have the ability to be the first minister of Scotland.
I have not been dissuaded from that view since I made those comments well over a year ago, but the most important thing for me here is to get on with the job of supporting the first minister over the coming days as he fights back and he wins this vote of no confidence next week.
Of course, implicit in my answer is the fact that I believe that the party leader should have the ability to be first minister of Scotland. As you and all your listeners know I am a member of parliament in Westminster, I do not have the ability to be the first minister of Scotland, so I am sure people can read between the lines in that regard.
I firmly believe it [ending the deal with the Greens] was the right thing to do, because the first minister wanted to reset the focus of the Scottish Government on the priorities of the Scottish people. That of course means providing jobs and opportunities for our young people, growing the economy, protecting our NHS from the worst excesses of … Westminster and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. He was absolutely right to do that.
I would simply say to politicians from across the political spectrum that now is the time for cool heads, calm words, to reflect and to think about the consequences of their actions.
