Humza Yousaf has admitted the SNP’s disastrous general election result in July could have ended his leadership if he had not resigned before.
The former first minister quit Bute House in April just weeks before Rishi Sunak surprised the country by calling a snap general election for July 4.
The summer poll saw the Nationalists lose in all but nine constituencies in Scotland, with the party being wiped out in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Yousaf resigned as SNP leader after he decided to terminate a powersharing deal at Holyrood with Scottish Greens. He said today it would likely not have been possible to find any way of ending the deal which satisfied the enviromentalists.
There was no way for the SNP and Greens to “consciously uncouple” amicably, he said – referring to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s break-up.
He said: “But if it was (possible), we would have had a general election a couple months after that and I’m not sure I would have survived the result of that general election.
“Very different for John Swinney, who’s only (been) in power for a few weeks, I would have been in power as leader of the SNP for well over a year by that point.
“So these things happen for a reason and I don’t focus or dwell too much on those regrets, I want to look forward, to continue to represent my constituency until 2026.”
The Glasgow Pollok MSP said he is filled with “gratitude” for the political journey he has been on throughout his career.
Discussing his future plans, Mr Yousaf said he wants to make contributions around ending global conflicts and tackling the rise of the far right, but does not currently have any solid plans.
He said he will speak out against injustices around the world “without fear or favour”.
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