Yousaf OUT! 🤯 Humza scoffs at power-sharing after election loss: “Purpose served.” Was the bitter end inevitable?
The SNP ended its power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens after a bitter row over cutting climate targets.
It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf called an emergency meeting of his cabinet this morning – usually held on a Tuesday – following speculation over the future of the Holyrood deal first struck by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.
Yousaf told a press conference on Thursday that the benefits of his party’s deal with the Greens had so far “outweighed the trade-offs” and delivered “a number of successes” – but that the balance had now “shifted”.
“The deal was intended to provide stability to the Scottish Government and has enabled a number of achievements, but it has served its purpose,” he said.
The First Minister said he hoped to pursue a “less formal” deal with his former partners and heralded what he called a “fresh start” for the SNP, saying his decision showed “leadership”.
SNP ‘selling out our future generations’
His warm words about the Bute House deal – which he previously described as “the price of gold” – struck a different tone to Greens co-leader Lorna Slater, who accused the SNP of “political cowardice”.
“This is an act of political cowardice by the SNP who are selling out future generations to appease the most reactionary forces in the country,” she said.
“They broke the bonds of trust with members of both parties who twice chose a cooperative agreement and climate action over chaos, culture wars, and division. They betrayed the voters.”
She added: “And by ending the deal in such a weak and utterly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signaled that he can no longer be trusted when it comes to political cooperation.”
The power-sharing deal, struck in 2021, was designed to ease governance between the two pro-independence parties at Holyrood and bring the Greens into government for the first time anywhere in the UK.
Named after the First Minister’s official residence in Edinburgh, it gave the SNP a majority in the Scottish Parliament when its votes combined with those of seven Green MSPs to create ministerial posts for Ms Slater and her co-leader Patrick Harvie.
©PA
But signs that the deal is running into trouble came after the Scottish Government scrapped its commitment to cut emissions by 75% by 2030.
The drop also comes on the same day puberty blockers will be suspended for new patients under the age of 18 at Glasgow’s gender identity service.
As well as weakening climate targets, the Greens were also horrified by the suspension of puberty blockers following Cass’s landmark review of gender services for under-18s in England and Wales.
It means Mr. Yousaf’s administration will now run a minority government at Holyrood – which he says will be “tough, it’s going to be tough, there’s no doubt about that”.
Last week the Greens said they would vote for their members on the future of the Bute House deal and Mr Harvie called on members to back it so the party could “put green values into practice” in government.
But in a statement released today, Ms. Slater said Greens members would now have no “democratic say”, adding: “If they can’t stand up to members of their own party, how can anyone expect them to stand up? the British government at Westminster and defend Scotland’s interests?”
Craig Hoy, chairman of the Scottish Conservatives, said the collapse of this “toxic coalition is a complete humiliation for Humza Yousaf” and “reemphasises how incompetent and out of his depth he is”.
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