Bute House Agreement: The end of an era or the end of error?

The end of an era, or the end of an error? The making of Humza Yousaf? Or the breaking of his administration? 

Much clamour and ado in Scottish politics today as the First Minister got up from his cornflakes (presumably) and decided the time had come to crunch up the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.  

This was the political pact negotiated by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon with the Scottish Greens in 2021, where the SNP agreed to back certain policies in exchange for votes in the Scottish Parliament.  

There were a couple of ministerial posts in it for the Greens too, with the Co-leaders becoming ministers for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity (Lorna Slater) and Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights (Patrick Harvie).  

Much was made of this political romance – both stressing their “progressive” credentials and shared mission to save the planet and the people of Scotland from climate change and sundry social ills.  

However, there was a very practical reason for this. With the backing of the smaller party, the SNP could count on a Parliamentary majority and had a ‘get out of jail’ card when it came to votes of no confidence.   

Read more:

What have the Greens done for us? A post Bute-House run down of power-sharing impact

With their Green-fingered chums onboard all was rosy in the SNP’s garden, metaphorically-speaking, until it all got torn up by the roots before many of us were out of the house this morning.  

Slater and Harvie were given the news Humza Yousaf had decided to terminate the Bute House Agreement in a swift 8am meeting, which ended with the pair doing a silent walk of shame past waiting journalists outside Bute House.  

The decision was to be broken officially at 10am, but events got ahead of the schedule.  

Lorna Slater was first to react to this brave new world, with a lengthy statement out before Humza’s speechifying podium was even in place. And it was clear the break-up had not been mutual.  

“This is an act of political cowardice by the SNP”, she said, accusing the First Minister of “selling out future generations to appease the most reactionary forces in the country.” By which she meant members of his own party.  

“By ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signalled that when it comes to political co-operation, he can no longer be trusted”, she added for good measure. Hell hath no fury...  

Patrick Harvie wasn’t to be silenced either, popping up at First Minister’s Questions to ask the First Minister “who he has pleased most”; Douglas Ross, SNP rebel Fergus Ewing or former first minister and Alba Party leader Alex Salmond? 

All three have been frequent critics of the Bute House Agreement in general and Mr Yousaf in particular. 

Mr Harvie further asked which of them the First Minister could rely on for a majority in Parliament, a roundabout way of saying there’s a snowball’s chance it will be him and his brethren backing Bute House in the future. 

For Humza Yousaf’s part, he had probably concluded that the two parties had simply drifted apart.  

There were the highly-publicised debacles around the Deposit Return Scheme, headed by Lorna Slater, which collapsed spectacularly with millions of public money lost.  

Then there was the row over Highly Protected Marine Areas championed by the Greens, but sunk when it emerged coastal communities who rely on the sea would be barred from fishing and, in some cases, discouraged from swimming in their own backyards.  

But the capstone was the reaction to the SNP’s ditching of its 2030 target to cut carbon emissions, which had led to much soul-searching from the Greens.  

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Notwithstanding the humiliation of being on the front benches while helming the only Green Party in Europe to cut environmentally friendly targets, both Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater were facing rebellion from their own party members – who had their own reasons for tearing up the Bute House Agreement and depriving their leaders of their posts. 

Indeed, Patrick Harvie had indicated he would step down of his own accord should his members decide it was time to ditch the pact with the SNP.  

Alarmed by this rocking of the ship of state, it’s possible Humza Yousaf decided to give his erstwhile colleagues in government a push before they jumped.  

Announcing the end of the Agreement, he said: “The Bute House Agreement was intended to provide stability to the Scottish Government, and it has made possible a number of achievements. But it has served its purpose. 

“It is no longer guaranteeing a stable arrangement in Parliament. The events of recent days have made that clear.”   

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So, after the chaos of coalition, it’s the stability of single life for the SNP. But Scotland has had minority governments before, and still prospered, relatively speaking.  

As always, the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. And votes of no confidence, if you’re Humza Yousaf.  

Cue Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross to announce at First Minister’s Questions he intends to seek exactly that, and bring down Humza once and for all.  

Now, if only the First Minister had a majority to protect him from such threats...