Humza Yousaf concedes sacking Scottish Greens was a mistake

The former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has admitted that he “fucked up” by sacking the Greens from his government.

Earlier this year, the Greens forced a vote on the Bute House agreement – the alliance of the Scottish National party and the Greens – over the ditching of a key climate pledge.

Ahead of the vote, Yousaf sacked the Green party’s co-leaders, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, from his government, bringing the deal between the parties to an end. The Greens subsequently said they would back a motion of no confidence in his premiership, forcing Yousaf’s resignation.

Speaking at an Edinburgh festival fringe event with broadcaster Matthew Stadlen on Thursday, the former first minister also pointed to an interview with Harvie on the BBC where he appeared to question the scientific validity of the Cass review of gender care for young people.

Yousaf said his “phone blew up” in the minutes after the broadcast. “It wasn’t from the usual malcontents in my party, but reasonable, supportive people, saying this makes the Bute House agreement very difficult to sustain and I need to think whether to continue it or not,” he said.

“You tend to make your mistakes when you think like a politician in a political bubble and you forget the human dimension. And what I did, 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.

“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, fucked up.”

Yousaf was elected as first minister in March last year after Nicola Sturgeon stepped down. After Yousaf resigned in May this year, he was succeeded by John Swinney, who led the SNP into July’s general election.