Achi news desk-
“And that makes me heartbroken for the young people of Scotland and future generations,” said the former minister.
READ MORE: Yousaf ‘absolutely’ not resigning before a vote of no confidence
During the interview, the Lothian list MSP appeared to suggest that her colleagues could be persuaded to support Mr Yousaf in next week’s vote of no confidence, although this was later deleted by party sources.
Ms Slater said Green MLAs had made the decision not to support the Prime Minister but the group “could have that conversation again.”
“No one has reached out to us in any way to try to change our minds,” he said.
Ms Slater said the Prime Minister only had himself to blame: “We had been a stable progressive government. And as things unravel so quickly, I think it will become clear that the Greens were the glue that held stable governance together in Scotland.
“Whether he could hold a government together now, I don’t know.
“But the agreement between the Greens and the Scottish Government is a confidence and supply agreement. It broke the deal.”
He claimed that Mr Yousaf “felt obliged to end the Bute House Agreement because he had lost control of the right wing of his party.”
Ms Slater said: “He had done the maths and realized he had more rebels than he could handle. So he is forced by events, I expect, to move sharply to the right.”
READ MORE: Scottish Labor to trigger a vote of no confidence in the SNP government
Next week, MSPs were due to debate and vote on a motion of no confidence in Patrick Harvie tabled by Alba.
There has been some speculation that a number of SNP Members of Parliament would have broken the whip and either voted against the Green or abstained. Although SNP chief whip Rona Mackay insisted that none of her members supported the proposal.
No one supported this proposal.
— Rona Mackay MSP (@RonaMackaySNP) April 25, 2024
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Harvie said Mr Yousaf “very clearly” lacked the confidence of parliament.
“We said that the responsibility of the decision is on him. He needs to bear the consequences of that reckless and harmful decision.
“I think it’s pretty clear that he’s not the person who’s going to be able to bring the majority of parliament together.”
When asked if there was any way back for Mr Yousaf in terms of working with the Greens, he said the Prime Minister had “breached trust”.
READ MORE: Yousaf cancels independence speech amid leadership crisis
Mr Harvie added: “He has not really given any clarity as to why he made such a dramatic U-turn and broke a promise on which he was elected First Minister.
“So it’s very difficult to see how you can have a conversation that leads to a constructive outcome based on that lack of trust.”
