Lorna Slater says Green deal with SNP 'difficult' because SNP has 'backtracked' on climate commitments
Gap between parties might be ‘unbridgeable’, she warns
Any formal arrangement between the SNP and the Greens after the election would be "difficult" to agree, former Green minister Lorna Slater has said.
And she warned the "hawkish" stance on oil and gas taken by Westminster SNP leader Stephen Flynn, who is expected to be elected as an MSP, might have made the gap between the parties “unbridgeable”.
Ms Slater - who is certain to be returned to Holyrood, either as a list MSP, or possibly by winning Edinburgh Central from Culture Secretary Angus Robertson - said the SNP had backtracked on climate commitments since ending the power-sharing agreement with the Greens in 2024.
She said: "On the presumption against fossil fuels, the 20 per cent reduction in traffic, the Heat in Buildings Bill, it's clear what the Greens were doing in government the SNP have now backtracked on.
"The question for everyone is: Is that now an irrevocable gap? Can the SNP be brought back into line on climate in a way that would allow the Greens to work with them closely again?
"With people like Stephen Flynn coming up, I think that gap might be unbridgeable now, if the SNP are really stepping back from their climate commitments - because obviously that's going to be a real problem for the Greens.”
She said she imagined Mr Flynn - "being hawkish on oil and gas" - would lead to "some pro-oil and gas faction within the SNP".
"That would mean John Swinney was being pulled in that direction by him, while the Greens and some of his own MSPs and former ministers will be pulling in the other direction. He'll have to navigate that. That's a political minefield he'll have to sort out."
Ms Slater suggested the divergence of views on climate issues would not stop the Greens co-operating with the SNP in other areas, but could rule out any sort of formal arrangement.
"Clearly there are matters where we have common ground - the First Minister has reiterated his commitment to tackling child poverty, that's something we would always support; obviously Scottish independence is something we support.
"So we would continue to work on matters where we agree, as we would with other parties - where Lib Dems agree with us, for example, on things like trans rights. We're obviously happy to work with other parties that agree with us on these sorts of positions.
"But a formal agreement I think is going to be difficult. But that would be up to the SNP ultimately anyway. It looks like they're going to be the largest party again, and it's for the SNP to decide whether they want to be a minority government again and just work with other parties on an ad hoc basis or whether they do want to approach another party for a formal arrangement, at which point of course there's a whole process to go through.
"If the Greens were considering that, we would need to go through our party processes.”
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