LONDON: Scotland`s leader Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday, further opening the door to the UK opposition Labour Party regaining ground in its former Scottish heartlands in a national election expected to be held later this year.

Yousaf said he was quitting as head of the proindependence Scottish National Party (SNP) and first minister of S cotland`s devolved government after a week of chaos trig-gered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland`s Greens.

He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence, which was expected later this week.

`I`ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done withsomeone else at the helm,` Yousaf said as he resigned a little over a year after he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as first minister and SNP leader.

He said he would continue until a successor was chosen in an SNP leadership contest.

The party is losing popular support after 17 years of heading the Scottish government.

`Level of hurt` Yousaf abruptly ended a power-sharing agreement between the SNP and the Green Party after a row over climate change targets. Caught between defending the record of the coalition government and some nationalists` demands to jettison gender recognition reformsand refocus on the economy, Yousaf was unable to strike a balance that would ensure his survival.

He said he had `underestimated the level of hurt` he caused the Greens by ending their alliance but was `not willing to trade my values and principles or do deals with whomever, simply for retaining power` in an apparent swipe at the SNP`s rival pro-independence Alba Party.

The Scottish parliament now has 28 days to choose a new first minister before an election is forced.

If the SNP is unable to find a new leader who can command support in parliament, a Scottish election will be held.Reuters