BOTH Anas Sarwar and Douglas Ross have issued statements following the resignation of Humza Yousaf.

The First Minister announced he would step down from the role officially once a successor has been chosen.

Former deputy first minister John Swinney (below) has already said he is giving “active consideration” to the possibility of replacing Yousaf.

The National: Former deputy first minister John Swinney has been made an honorary professor

In his statement, the Scottish Labour leader thanked Yousaf for his “public service” as he said, “Scots will remember the dignified way in which he acted while his loved ones faced danger in Gaza”.

He added: “I wish him and his family the best for the future. For Scottish Labour, this has never been about one person – this is about 17 years of SNP failure.

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“The fact is this is a crisis of the SNP’s making and it appears they will yet again put the party before country while Scots are being failed every day.

“Scotland faces the biggest challenges since devolution but it now has a dysfunctional, chaotic and divided SNP government.

“All this at a time when our country needs strong leadership to get us through the twin challenges of the economic crisis and the crisis in our NHS.

“The SNP are a divided party which is out of ideas and incapable of rising to the challenges Scotland faces.

“They cannot impose another unelected first minister on Scotland in a backroom deal – the people of Scotland should decide who leads our country.

“There must be an election – it’s time for change and Scottish Labour is ready to deliver it.”

Update on motion

Sarwar also provided an update on the motion of no confidence he lodged in the Scottish Government.

He said he believes the “principle of the motion” still applies and said it should be for the “public to decide who leads the country”.

However, he added “we have to see what happens” when pushed on whether or not the motion would be pulled.

Asked about the pulling of the Bute House Agreement, Sarwar said: “Look I think it’s clearly a massive miscalculation, probably more the manner in which he did it.

“People can make the judgement whether it was the right decision but the manner in which it was done was clearly absolutely flawed.

“But I think those people who were pushing him to make that decision need to take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror.

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“I’m thinking of Stephen Flynn in particular. He might wonder, now pretend that he had nothing to do with it.

“Everyone knows where the influence came from, everyone knows where the arm-twisting came from and he encouraged our First Minister to go on the front foot, it looks like he actually shot him in the foot.”

Douglas Ross reaction

The Scottish Tory leader has also offered his reaction to the news, claiming his party “delivered on our promise to be a strong opposition to Humza Yousaf and the SNP" by “forcing Humza Yousaf out of office”.

The National:

He added that he wishes Yousaf and his family well “on a personal level” but that “we cannot forgive the damage he did to families and households across Scotland by raising taxes, letting NHS waiting lists spiral and attacking free speech”.

“The next First Minister must abandon the nationalist obsession with independence and focus solely on Scotland’s top priorities, such as creating jobs and improving our ailing public services.

“Scottish people cannot afford another SNP first minister focused solely on separating Scotland from the rest of the UK.”

Scottish LibDems

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have also issued a statement after Yousaf’s resignation, saying it “hurls the SNP another step closer towards the end”.

“This is a stale government that has been in power too long, Scotland needs a new government – one that won’t make empty promises but will get the basics right,” the statement said.

The National:

“For 17 years, the SNP have been ignoring the people who do most of the heavy lifting. People are working harder but feel like they are falling further behind and are being taken for granted.

“By focusing on what really matters, Scottish Liberal Democrats can bring new hope to everyone who can’t get a GP appointment or see an NHS dentist, new hope to our schools slipping down the international rankings, businesses struggling to make ends meet and islanders left without lifeline ferries.

“We can’t go on like this. This country can’t have yet another first minister without an election.”