The Scottish National Party (SNP) has scrapped its power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens after an emergency meeting on Thursday morning. The decision brings to an end the Bute House Agreement, which was formed in 2021 after the SNP missed out on an outright majority in the Holyrood elections.
The collapse of the agreement means the SNP, now led by Humza Yousaf, will govern as a minority administration in Scotland. This will make it more challenging for the party to push through key laws.
The decision to end the power-sharing deal reportedly followed an emergency Cabinet meeting at Bute House in Edinburgh on Thursday morning. According to reports, Green co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie were seen walking out of Bute House before the unscheduled meeting officially began at 08:30.
The Greens had earlier indicated that they would hold a vote on the future of the Bute House Agreement. This came after the Scottish Government announced that it would ditch a key climate change target and pause puberty blockers for new patients at the only Scottish gender identity clinic for children in Glasgow.
Several high-profile figures in the SNP, including former leadership candidate Kate Forbes and party stalwart Fergus Ewing, had previously called for the deal to be terminated. Mr. Yousaf, who was the only SNP leadership candidate who supported continuing the deal, had described it as “worth its weight in gold.”
The Scottish Labour Party has responded to the news by criticizing the SNP government, calling it “chaotic and incompetent.” The party has called for change, highlighting the difficulties faced by the people of Scotland as a result of the government’s actions.
The end of the power-sharing agreement is a significant development in Scottish politics. It will be interesting to see how the SNP government will govern as a minority administration and what impact this will have on the people of Scotland.
