Swinney has won backing of several senior cabinet members and SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn

John Swinney is expected to announce that he will run for SNP leadership and first minister of Scotland.

Swinney, 60, a hugely experienced politician who joined the party at the age of 15 and has served in many roles across several administrations, including as party leader, has already won the backing of a number of senior cabinet members and the SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn.

Whoever wins must stop acting like the leader of an independent nation that does not yet exist, and start leading the real Scotland

Faced with a crisis in its direction and its fortunes, a political party can sometimes change. Labour has managed that since 2019. But parties do not change easily. Sometimes, indeed, they respond by doubling down on past error, as the Conservatives have done. But the choice between continuity and change cannot be ducked, and it is the one that now faces the Scottish National party after Humza Yousaf’s resignation this week.

Part of the crisis confronting the SNP is immediate and circumstantial. The SNP is easily the largest party in the Scottish parliament. Until the next Holyrood election, due in 2026, Scotland cannot be governed without it. But the SNP has lost popularity, is a divided party and, since the breach with the Greens last week, has no natural allies that it is able to call on. Its opposition rivals, moreover, have zero interest in coming to the SNP’s rescue.

Scottish Greens vote with government despite uncertainty after Humza Yousaf’s resignation

The SNP government has headed off Labour’s attempt to force an early Holyrood election, as the Scottish Greens warned the party it must “remain progressive” as an imminent leadership contest threatens to reopen bitter divisions.

Anas Sarwar’s motion of no confidence in Humza Yousaf’s administration – which would have forced all government ministers to resign – was defeated by 70 votes to 58 on Wednesday afternoon after the Greens voted with the SNP.

Brexit and Scottish independence have benefited Rishi Sunak and Humza Yousaf – now both are suffering the consequences

Brexit isn’t working, and there are potholes everywhere. Those are not equivalent challenges. Fresh asphalt heals cracked carriageways in an afternoon. Repairing a fractured continental alliance is the work of a generation. One problem did not cause the other. But they are on the vast continuum of political failure – from global to local – that coincides with 14 years of Conservative rule and for which the party will be punished in local elections on Thursday.

Also this week new customs checks on a range of EU imports are being implemented, throwing a bit more sand in the gears of trade. The measure has been deferred multiple times, and is now being only partially rolled out. The government has held back in tacit recognition that the economic impact is only downside: bureaucracy, queues, disrupted supplies, feeding into higher prices.

Climate groups and Greens co-leader say climate policies risk being sidelined or buried by SNP

• Next first minister will need centre-left allies, says Scottish Greens’ Harvie

From the collapse of its ambitious climate target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030, to the mothballing of a world-leading deposit return scheme, the much-heralded environmental objectives of the Scottish government appear to be falling apart.

As political opponents gather to exploit the fallout from Humza Yousaf’s departure, amid admissions he mishandled his Green party coalition partners , more long-term but pressing climate and environmental policies risk being sidelined at best, and buried at worst.

Greens co-leader says SNP will have to do deals with anti-independence Tories unless it keeps his party on side

• ‘There is despair’: fears for Scotland’s green policies as power-sharing ends

The Scottish National party will find it far harder to govern unless the next first minister agrees to work with centre-left parties, a co-leader of the Scottish Greens has said.

The Greens were in a power-sharing deal with the SNP until Humza Yousaf unilaterally ended it last week, precipitating his downfall on Monday .

Polling puts Ben Houchen on course to win in Tees Valley with Andy Street just ahead of Labour’s Richard Parker in West Midlands

Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, has said the Home Office is “used to” losing contact with asylum seekers, after official figures suggested thousands of people it hoped to deport to Rwanda had stopped reporting. Jessica Elgot has the story here.

Good morning. With just two days left before the local elections in England, which could see the Consevatives lose half their seats, according to at last one projection , Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak have both had bits of good news to celebrate in the last 24 hours.

On Monday, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf announced his resignation. What does this mean for the Scottish National party? Severin Carrell and Libby Brooks report

On Thursday, Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, made the unexpected decision to tear up the Bute House agreement. The deal was reached in August 2021, between the former Scottish National party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Green party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, to encourage cooperation between the two parties.

“In one of the most unexpected twists to this entire saga, and a twist that I don’t believe that Humza would ever have envisaged was realistic, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater made clear that they were prepared to do what was previously unthinkable,” the Guardian’s Scotland editor, Severin Carrell , tells Michael Safi . “And that was back a Scottish Conservative motion of no confidence against Humza Yousaf.”