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Yousaf says deal with Greens ‘has served its purpose’ and in future the two party will cooperate, but less formally
Yousaf says as leader of the government he has to decide how best it can make changes.
For almost three years the SNP had done that throught its agreement with the Scottish Greens. That deal has “undoubtedly” delivered some successes.
But he says, in almost any walk of life, cooperation is a trade-off.
He says, when he said the deal was worth its weight in gold, he meant it.
But he says that is no longer the case. He goes on:
The balance has shifted. The Bute House agreement was intended to provide stability to the Scottish government. And it’s made possible a number of achievements. But it has served its purpose.
Yousaf says the deal was no longer providing stability in parliament.
He says he has told the Scottish Greens he is terminating it with immediate effect.
In the future, the two parties will still cooperate, but in a less formal way, he says.
Key events
The Scottish government has published the full text of Humza Yousaf’s open letter to Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater confirming that he has terminated the Bute House agreement.
Here’s an extract.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your service to the Scottish government and for your evident commitment to improving the lives of the Scottish people. The Bute House agreement delivered bold action on pressing social issues, including securing a better deal for tenants and action to tackle poverty and inequality. We have worked together, too, to accelerate our transition to net zero, with a focus on fair work, green jobs and more support for active travel and the launch of free bus travel for under 22s.
We can all be proud of our work together to build a greener, fairer and independent Scotland and for the role you played in working collaboratively to find solutions for the problems confronting the world today.
This spirit of cooperation and consensus-building is in keeping with the founding principles of our Scottish parliament. Those principles will continue to guide my Government’s approach and to be innovative in the ways we serve the people of Scotland.
The cessation of the Bute House agreement should not be a barrier to our parties continuing to work together to make progress on the policies Scotland needs to thrive; not least our shared commitment to securing independence for Scotland and to giving people the right to choose our country’s future.
Q: Is this all about saving your position, and saving seats for the SNP at the election?
Yousaf does not accept that. He says this is about stability.
And at that point he says he had to go, to prepare for FMQs.
I will post a summary of what he said shortly.
Q: Are you worried about losing a pro-independence majority?
Yousaf says there will still be a pro-independence majority in the parliament as a whole.
He says he will still be sharing platforms with the Greens on issues like this.
Yousaf says the SNP is not diminished “in one bit” in its determination to tackle the climate crisis.
Q: What is happening to the jobs left vacant by the departure of Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater?
Yousaf says in the first instance their responsibilities will be taken up by other ministers in government.
He thanks Harvie and Slater again for “the incredible work they have done as ministers”.
Q: Support for the deal with the Greens was a big party of your leadership campaign last year. Aren’t you a lame duck leader?
Not at all, Yousaf says. He repeats the point about leadership.
Yousaf denies ending pact with Greens just because he did not want their members to end it first
Q: Aren’t you doing this because it is better to do the breaking up yourself than be dumped? (The Scottish Greens were planning to have a vote of members on whether to continue the pact.)
“I wouldn’t know,” Yousaf jokes.
He says he does not know how Scottish Green members were going to vote.
Yousaf says he thinks there is a general feeling that the Bute House agreement has served its purpose.
Q: You were defending having Patrick Harvie in your government until very recently. Doesn’t this show you are not in control?
Yousaf insists he is showing leadership, repeating much of what he said when to a very similar question just a moment ago. (See 10.25am.)
‘Quite the opposite. It shows leadership’ – Yousaf rejects claim U-turn on continuing pact with Green shows he’s weak
Q: Does this U-turn show you are weak? [This is the argument the Scottish Tories are making – see 9.54am.]
Yousaf replied:
Quite the opposite. It shows leadership.
As the leader of the government, leader of the party that elected me, I’ve got to make sure I do what’s in the best interest of Scotland.
Q: On Tuesday you were saying you hoped members of the Scottish Greens would vote to continue the Bute House agreement. What changed in 48 hours?
Yousaf says he had to consider this matter in private. He repeats the point about being proud of what the BHA achieved, but he says he felt it had served its purpose.
The deal was a trade-off. For the SNP, the benefit was stability in government. That was no longer being offered, he says.
He says it is now time for all opposition parties to step up. They can’t just “snipe from the sidelines”, he says.
Yousaf is now taking questions. He says he has not got long, because he has to prepare for first minister’s questions at noon.
He thanks Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater for their work in government.
In the future, the SNP and the Scottish Greens will cooperate issue by issue, he says.
Yousaf says the SNP will now govern as a minority government.
But this will mark a “new beginning” for the administration, he says.
I have a clear policy agenda that I wish to take forward, one that centres around growing our economy and supporting businesses, improving our NHS, tackling poverty and child poverty in particular, helping households during Westminster’s cost of living crisis, standing up for the rights of everyone in Scotland, especially our most marginalised communities and for the avoidance of any doubt, tackling the climate emergency.
Yousaf says deal with Greens ‘has served its purpose’ and in future the two party will cooperate, but less formally
Yousaf says as leader of the government he has to decide how best it can make changes.
For almost three years the SNP had done that throught its agreement with the Scottish Greens. That deal has “undoubtedly” delivered some successes.
But he says, in almost any walk of life, cooperation is a trade-off.
He says, when he said the deal was worth its weight in gold, he meant it.
But he says that is no longer the case. He goes on:
The balance has shifted. The Bute House agreement was intended to provide stability to the Scottish government. And it’s made possible a number of achievements. But it has served its purpose.
Yousaf says the deal was no longer providing stability in parliament.
He says he has told the Scottish Greens he is terminating it with immediate effect.
In the future, the two parties will still cooperate, but in a less formal way, he says.
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