THE end of the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens means the SNP will now preside over a minority government.
But what does this mean and how could it impact Humza Yousaf's leadership?
A minority government
A minority government is formed by a party which does not have the support of more than half of the total seats in the Scottish Parliament.
The 2021 Holyrood election saw the SNP emerge with 64 seats – just one short of a majority.
The Bute House Agreement with the eight MSPs from the Scottish Greens (excluding Alison Johnstone who sits as Presiding Officer) allowed the SNP to have some assurance about the kinds of policies it was going to be able to pass during this parliament.
READ MORE: Scottish Greens react to being ditched from government
However, former SNP MSP Ash Regan’s defection to Alba last year means the SNP now has 63 seats.
While the Bute House Agreement assured the SNP of their ability to pass legislation in agreed upon policy areas such as climate change, rent controls and most importantly on the annual budget, as a minority government the SNP will have to rely upon making deals with other parties on a case-by-case basis.
Will other parties co-operate with the SNP?
Speaking to journalists at Bute House after the power sharing deal with the Scottish Greens was scrapped, Humza Yousaf said he looked forward to “co-operating with all parties” in Holyrood.
However, the prospect of other parties welcoming co-operation with the SNP will be greeted with some amount scepticism given the tenor of debate in the Scottish Parliament.
Still, it’s not the first time the SNP have presided over a minority government.
The 2007 Holyrood election saw the SNP, then led by Alex Salmond (below), emerge with the most seats at 47, which fell far short of a majority.
A proposal to form a coalition the Scottish Liberal Democrats was rebuffed by the LibDems, leaving the SNP with no choice but to form a minority government.
This relied upon the Scottish Greens agreeing to vote in the SNP as a minority government in return for a climate change bill and nominating a Green MSP to chair a Holyrood committee.
The Greens had just two MSPs at the time.
But with co-leader Lorna Slater describing Yousaf’s decision to scrap the Bute House Agreement as “an act of political cowardice”, co-operation from the Greens cannot be relied upon as it often has been by the SNP in recent years.
Will there be an early Holyrood election?
It also calls into question the Government’s ability to pass a budget, which has repeatedly relied upon the support of the Scottish Greens.
The Scottish Government aims to have a budget bill passed before February each year.
However, without support from another party this will be impossible.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf speaks at Bute House after ending SNP Green coalition deal
Deals will have to be made or Humza Yousaf’s ability to preside over a functioning government will be called into question.
The next Holyrood election isn’t due to take place until 2026.
But without the votes to push through a budget, Scotland could very well face the prospect of a Scottish Parliament election as early as next year.
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