Patrick Harvie suggests Humza Yousaf's SNP Government won't last until Christmas after 'U-turn' kicks out Greens

Mr Harvie alongside his co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Lorna Slater, spoke after the Scottish Government ripped up the co-operation agreement with the Greens.

The Glasgow MSP has warned that “a raft of progressive policies” are set to be watered down with the Greens now out of government, accusing Mr Yousaf of “shoring up support from his conservative wing” of the SNP.

He said that the two now-former ministers were called to a meeting with the First Minister this morning where “he informed us of his decision to end the cooperation agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens”.

Mr Harvie said: “This is a total U-turn on his position from recent weeks and even days where he had reasserted his government’s commitments to the progressive policies that our parties had jointly agreed on and the need to ramp up climate action in the face of decades of political inaction, including form the SNP Government.

“The First Minister has decided, I’m sorry to say, to capitulate to the most reactionary, backward-looking forces within the SNP and it’s the opposite of what’s in Scotland’s best interests.

“Humza Yousaf became First Minister last year when his members rejected the idea of an SNP lurch to the right. He now looks set to give his party what they rejected. He’ll be shoring up support from his conservative wing and ditching the progressive policy platform that he was elected on, which he continued to endorse just days ago.”

He added: “We now expect to see a raft of progressive policies watered down, delayed or ditched altogether from rent controls to nature restoration, to new, sustainable transport policies to Scotland’s leading approach to decarbonising homes.

“But to those in the SNP who do still believe in a progressive and fairer Scotland, our door is open.”

Mr Harvie told journalists that it was for Mr Yousaf to explain why he has decided to end the agreement, but Ms Slater insisted that “future generations of Scotland have been betrayed”.

Asked if his party will still support the Scottish Government’s budget in December, Mr Harvie said: “You think the current Scottish Government will still be in place by the next budget?”

Pressed if Mr Harvie and Ms Slater will stay on as co-leaders of the Scottish Greens, Mr Harvie said: “That’s another decision for another time.”