Patrick Harvie to quit as Scottish Green co-leader if party ends deal with SNP

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Patrick Harvie will quit as co-leader of the Scottish Greens if the party votes to end the power-sharing deal with the SNP.The Glasgow MSP, a junior Government minister, said he would not expect to stay on if members bin the pact with the Nationalists.Greens are divided after the Government last week scrapped the 2030 interim targets on climate change.The decision caused fury among party members and a special vote will take place next month on an SNP/Green deal in force since 2021.Harvie is a staunch supporter of the pact, but he told STV he shared the “disappointment” about the dumped targets.He said the target was “physically impossible” to achieve as Scotland is years behind schedule.But he said it is important for the Greens to stay in Government and claimed walking away would “downgrade” climate action.He and fellow MSP Lorna Slater are co-leaders and he was asked if he would quit if he lost the members' vote:“I wouldn’t expect to stay on in that role if the party had made a decision like that, but honestly that is the least important aspect of that question."This is about whether the Scottish Green party believe it can achieve more for the people of Scotland, for the environment and for a better, fairer and greener Scotland by staying in Government.

I believe that we can.”First Minister Humza Yousaf backs the Green deal and made its continuation a key part of his campaign to lead the SNP.But a former SNP Minster has urged his party to call time on the agreement.Alex Neil, who served in both Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond’s cabinets, said voters now think the SNP has “lost the plot a bit”.He told BBC Scotland the Greens “seem to be dominating” in government and accused his party of "accepting anything" proposed by