SNP's power sharing deal with Greens collapses as emergency meeting called

The power sharing agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens at Holyrood has reportedly collapsed.

Scotland's First Minister, Humza Yousaf, called an emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday morning due to escalating tensions between the two parties.

The Bute House Agreement, named after the First Minister's official residence in Edinburgh, brought the Greens into power for the first time anywhere in the UK when it was signed in 2021.

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This agreement provided the SNP with a majority at Holyrood and appointed Green co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie as junior ministers in the Scottish Government.

With the termination of this deal, the SNP will now have to function as a minority administration at Holyrood.

The decision follows the Scottish Government's forced abandonment of a crucial climate change target last week, which angered the Greens.

The Greens were also displeased with the decision to halt the prescription of puberty blockers to new patients at Scotland's only gender services clinic for young people in Glasgow.

Due to these issues, the Greens had intended to hold a party vote on the future of the power sharing deal, but the agreement has ended before that could occur.

High-profile figures in the SNP, such as former leadership candidate Kate Forbes and party stalwart Fergus Ewing, had previously called for the deal signed when Nicola Sturgeon was first minister to end.

Mr Yousaf, the sole SNP leadership contender backing the continuation of the deal, previously praised it as being "worth its weight in gold".

However, following the announcement of the Green vote on the deal's future, Mr Harvie expressed uncertainty, stating he "honestly" did not know if his party would support its ongoing existence.