Scottish Greens leader threatens to resign if party votes to break up power-sharing deal with SNP

One of the Green ministers in Humza Yousaf’s Government has threatened to resign as his party’s co-leader if its members vote to tear up their power-sharing deal with the SNP.

Patrick Harvie said it would not “be realistic for me to carry on” leading the Scottish Greens if party members decided they should leave government and return to Holyrood’s back benches.

He admitted members were upset at the Scottish Government ditching its keynote 2030 climate change target but argued that “walking away from that now would be a mistake”.

But the head of the UK’s official climate change watchdog said that he was “dubious” that another of the SNP-Green coalition’s flagship targets to cut greenhouse gases would be met.

Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, warned that it will be “extraordinarily difficult” for ministers to achieve the goal of reducing the number of kilometres travelled by car by 20 per cent by 2030.

Warning that these were “very dangerous moments”, he said Scotland had an “empty vessel act” setting a final target to achieve net zero by 2045 – but with no policies to meet it.

The Scottish Greens are to hold a meeting and vote next month on whether to end their coalition with the SNP, after an unprecedented rank-and-file rebellion of the ditching of a target to cut greenhouse gases by 75 per cent by 2030.

‘Worst environmental decision’

Friends of the Earth described it as “the worst environmental decision in the history of the Scottish Parliament”.

The Rainbow Greens, who represent the LGBT members in the party, also called for the party to withdraw from the Scottish Government over a decision to suspend the use of puberty blockers for new child patients.

Mr Harvie admitted at the weekend that he did not know which way the vote will go on the Bute House Agreement (BHA), the name of the coalition deal Ms Sturgeon reached with the Greens in 2021.

When asked whether he would remain leader if members voted to leave the Scottish Government, he said: “I genuinely don’t see how it would be realistic for me to carry on in that way in those circumstances.

“But this is the least important aspect of this. This is about our climate future, this is about the future direction of Scotland, that’s what we’re focused on.”

Mr Harvie warned Green members that voters will think they are “just a party that walks away when things get difficult”.

He admitted the party’s first experience of power “had been a bit of a rollercoaster” and that members had to get used to a “culture change” where the two Green ministers – he and Lorna Slater – “might be less accessible” to them.

‘Years behind’ on climate change

The Active Travel Minister said “the truth is that Scotland is years behind where we should be” on tackling climate change but insisted the final 2045 net-zero target was “achievable”.

But Mr Stark told Holyrood’s net-zero committee: “We have a 2045 net-zero target in law, but we have nothing much beyond that for the next few months.

“Therefore we need to look to the strength of the policies the Scottish Government brings in the next 12 months to this Parliament as a test of how serious the Scottish Government really is now of its climate credentials.”

His warning came as the only MSP representing Alex Salmond’s Alba Party lodged a motion of no confidence in Mr Harvie after he rubbished the Cass Review into gender identity services for children.

However, Ash Regan appeared to be struggling to get the backing of the 25 other MSPs she required for a vote to take place. Tory insiders said they were “unlikely” to back the motion, arguing the problem was the entire BHA and not just Mr Harvie.