Achi news desk-
End of an era, or end of an error? Making Humza Yousaf? Or the break of his administration?
A lot of excitement and prestige in Scottish politics today as the Prime Minister got up from his horn bug (probably) and decided that the time had come to strengthen the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.
This was the political agreement negotiated by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon with the Scottish Greens in 2021, where the SNP agreed to support certain policies in exchange for votes in the Scottish Parliament.
There were one or two ministerial posts in it for the Greens as well, with the Joint Leaders becoming ministers for Green Skills, the Circular Economy and Biodiversity (Lorna Slater) and Carbon Free Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights (Patrick Harvey).
Much has been made of this political romance – both emphasizing their “progressive” credentials and sharing a mission to save the planet and the people of Scotland from climate change and minor social ills.
However, there was a very practical reason for this. With the support of the smaller party, the SNP could count on a Parliamentary majority and get a ‘get out of jail free’ card when it came to votes of no confidence.
Read more:
What have the Greens done for us? After the House of Bute lacked the effect of power sharing
With their green-fingered friends on board it was all rosy in the SNP’s garden, metaphorically speaking, until it was all torn up by the roots before many of us were out of the house this morning.
Slater and Harvie were told that Humza Yousaf had decided to terminate the Bute House Agreement in a quick meeting at 8am, which ended with the pair making a silent walk of shame past journalists waiting outside Bute House.
The decision was to be officially broken at 10am, but events took place earlier than expected.
Lorna Slater was the first to respond to this brave new world, with a long statement out before Humza’s podium was even in place. And it was clear that the breakup had not been mutual.
“This is an act of political cowardice by the SNP”, he said, accusing the Prime Minister of “selling out to future generations in order to appease the most reactionary forces in the country.” By that she meant members of his own party.
“By ending the agreement in such a weak and completely hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has indicated that in terms of political cooperation, he can no longer be trusted”, he added for good measure. Hell hath no fury…
Patrick Harvie was not to be silenced either, dropping into Prime Minister’s Questions to ask the Prime Minister “who he is most impressed with”; Douglas Ross, SNP rebel Fergus Ewing or former prime minister and Alba Party leader Alex Salmond?
The three have been constant critics of the Tŷ Bute Agreement in general and Mr Yousaf in particular.
Mr Harvie further asked which of them the Prime Minister could rely on for a majority in the Senedd, a roundabout way of saying that there is a snowball’s chance that he and his brothers will support Bute House in the future.
As for Humza Yousaf, apparently he has come to the conclusion that the two parties have diverged from each other.
There was a lot of publicity for the debates about the Deposit Return Scheme, led by Lorna Slater, which collapsed spectacularly with millions of public funds lost.
Then there was the argument over Marine Highly Protected Areas which was championed by the Greens, but which was sunk when it emerged that coastal communities dependent on the sea would be banned from fishing and, in some cases, allowed encourage them not to swim in their own backyards.
But the capstone was the response to the SNP abandoning its 2030 target to cut carbon emissions, which had led to a lot of soul searching by the Greens.
Despite the embarrassment of being on the front benches while steering the only Green Party in Europe to break environmentally friendly targets, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater faced a rebellion from their own party members – who had their own reasons for tearing up the Bute House Agreement. and deprive their leaders of their positions.
Indeed, Patrick Harvie had indicated that he would step down voluntarily if his members decided it was time to abandon the agreement with the SNP.
Alarmed by this rocking of the ship of state, Humza Yousaf may have decided to give his colleagues in the government a boost before they jump.
Announcing the end of the Agreement, he said: “The Bute House Agreement was intended to give stability to the Scottish Government, and it has made a number of successes possible. But it has served its purpose.
“It no longer guarantees a stable arrangement in Parliament. The events of the last few days have made that clear.”
So, after the chaos of the coalition, it’s a single life stability for the SNP. But Scotland has had minority governments before, and is still thriving, relatively speaking.
As always, the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. And votes of no confidence, if you’re Humza Yousaf.
For the leader of the Scottish Tories, Douglas Ross, to announce at Prime Minister’s Questions that he intends to try exactly that, and bring Humza down once and for all.
Now, if only the Prime Minister had a majority to protect him from such threats…
