Pressure piles on Humza Yousaf over 'toxic' green pact

• First Minister urged to order SNP vote on future of coalition of chaos 

Humza Yousaf is facing mounting pressure to order a vote on the SNP’s ‘toxic’ coalition with the Greens.

The First Minister was yesterday urged to give party members a vote on whether to scrap the Bute House Agreement, after the Scottish Greens called their own ballot on the issue.

The collapse of the coalition would leave Mr Yousaf in charge of a minority government, which could be forced into calling an early election if it struggled to pass next year’s Budget.

In a wave of dissent, senior Nationalist MP Joanna Cherry yesterday demanded that her party severs its alliance with the ‘deeply unpopular’ Greens rather than sweeping its problems ‘under the carpet’.

Former health secretary Alex Neil also warned the coalition is causing ‘enormous damage’ to the SNP, and said voters think the party has ‘lost the plot’. Ex-Scottish Greens co-convener Robin Harper waded in from the other side and urged current leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater to quit government and focus on issues that matter to the public ‘rather than what matters to them’.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, writing in today’s Daily Mail, says it is now time ‘this toxic agreement’ was binned.

SNP leader Humza Yousaf has been urged to call a vote on the future of the Bute House Agreement amid splits with the Greens

His party chairman Craig Hoy added: ‘The coalition of chaos has been disastrous for Scotland. The militant Greens should never have been allowed anywhere near the levers of power in the first place.

‘Their malign influence can be seen in many of the coalition’s worst failings – from abandoning oil and gas jobs and stalling on dualling the A90 and A96, to the botched Deposit Return Scheme and gender self-ID bill.

‘Yet, astonishingly, it’s Green members threatening to pull the plug on the deal, rather than a painfully weak Humza Yousaf.

‘Apart from Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie – who owe their ministerial salaries to it – the hapless First Minister must be the only person who can’t see that his toxic coalition is damaging Scotland.’

Disgruntled Green Party members have forced a vote on the coalition deal, due to take place next month, amid anger at the Scottish Government ditching a key climate change pledge last week and the decision to pause the use of puberty blockers at the country’s only gender clinic in Glasgow.

Mr Harper said: ‘I really do despair when I hear Patrick inviting us to stay in power because of what they’ve achieved.

‘We’ve scrapped targets for climate change, we’ve scrapped the marine protected areas, we’ve scrapped the target of a million gas boilers going to scrap.

‘The Greens should refocus their efforts on what matters to the people of Scotland rather than on what matters to them.’

Mr Yousaf is now facing growing calls to also allow SNP members a vote on whether to scrap the deal.

It is another major headache for the First Minister, who admitted at the weekend he was shocked after the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell was charged in connection with embezzlement last week. Edinburgh MP Ms Cherry said: ‘SNP members should get a second vote on the Bute House Agreement.

‘If we are to recover as a party from current challenges, we need to address problems like this alliance with a deeply unpopular party rather than sweeping them under the carpet as per previous practice.’

Mr Neil said: ‘It is time to review this agreement. It is doing enormous damage to the standing of the SNP.’

He insisted ditching the deal would help SNP election prospects ‘overnight’ and claimed people are only considering voting Labour as ‘they think we have lost the plot a bit’.

A host of Nationalist MSPs are also known to favour a new vote on the alliance, which was signed by Nicola Sturgeon in August 2021.

The SNP has 63 MSPs – two short of a Holyrood majority. The alliance with the Greens, which has seven MSPs, has allowed the SNP-led government to pass key legislation.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the SNP will struggle to get its Budget approved next February if the partnership collapses.

He added: ‘Under those circumstan-ces an election next May is suddenly very possible.’

Former BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor said: ‘You cannot govern unless you can get your Budget through and the SNP need that deal, and the Greens know it.’

On the prospect of a vote being granted, an SNP source said: ‘It’s hard to say. They will want to keep dissent to a minimum but Humza’s controlling apparatus isn’t as effective as Nicola’s.’

An SNP spokesman said: ‘Members voted overwhelmingly to support the Bute House Agreement in 2021.’

Ms Slater conceded there have been ‘frustrations and anger’ within her party in recent weeks but added: ‘We have much more influence in government when we’re in the room.’

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