Government collapses

Scotland’s coalition government collapses

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf kills agreement between SNP and Scottish Greens amid bitter row over climate targets.

BY NOAH KEATE

The governing coalition between the Scottish National Party and Scottish Greens at Holyrood ended after a bitter row about abandoned climate targets.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf pulled the plug Thursday on the SNP's coalition deal with the Scottish Greens, formally known as the Bute House Agreement. The SNP is now expected to forge ahead as a minority administration.

The agreement, authorized in August 2021, allowed the Scottish Greens to have two junior ministers. Co-Leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie fulfilled that role and were filmed leaving Bute House earlier Thursday.

Tensions between the two parties increased after the Scottish government scrapped plans to reduce carbon emissions in Scotland by 75 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

In a letter to the Greens’ Harvie and Slater confirming the move, Yousaf thanked the pair for their service and said the coalition had “delivered bold action on pressing social issues” and insisted its “spirit of co-operation and consensus-building” would continue.

But Harvie shot back: "The first minister has decided to capitulate to the most reactionary forces in the SNP.”

"He now looks set to give his party what they rejected,” Harvie added. “We expect to see a raft of progressive policies watered down or ditched altogether."

Yousaf — who was under pressure from some in his own party to call time on the deal amid a host of other policy spats — held an emergency Cabinet meeting Thursday morning which had aimed to address growing disagreements between the two parties.

Scottish Green party members were due to vote on whether to ditch the agreement, with Harvie saying he could not stay on as leader if members approved withdrawal.

The SNP holds 63 of the 129 seats at Holyrood and is expected to press on as a minority administration until the next Scottish parliament elections in 2026.