LONDON (Reuters) – The Scottish National Party (SNP) will lead a minority government in Scotland after its coalition with the Greens collapsed on Thursday over tensions over climate change targets, Sky News reported.
The agreement was signed in 2021 after nationalists failed to win a majority after Scotland last week moved to scrap its climate change target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. The coalition agreement was under pressure.
The SNP has been in charge of Scottish government since 2011, but its lead in opinion polls began to decline after Nicola Sturgeon resigned in early 2023. She has since been arrested and is being investigated over her party's finances.
She denies any wrongdoing.
The SNP currently has 63 of the 129 members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), while the Green Party has seven. Both parties support Scottish independence.
The Conservative Party has 31 MSPs, while Labor, once Scotland's dominant force, has 22 MSPs.
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Earlier this month, a YouGov poll showed Britain's opposition Labor party narrowly ahead of the SNP for the first time since Scotland's independence referendum in 2014.
SNP leader Humza Yousaf is likely to lead a minority government without the support of the Greens.
(Reporting by Farouk Suleiman; Writing by Kate Holton; Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle)
Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.
