Greens ready to support SNP

Greens ready to support SNP government

By Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor

ALEX Salmond could be installed as First Minister and protected from votes of no confidence under plans being developed by the Scottish Greens. Robin Harper’s party is drawing up a blueprint whereby the Greens would back the SNP leader to front the Scottish Executive but decline to take seats in his Cabinet.

They would also promise to vote for an SNP budget in exchange for guarantees on key environmental issues, such as nuclear power. The “confidence-and-supply” model is one of the options being considered by the Greens as they prepare for the 2007 Holyrood elections.
Both they and the Nationalists opened talks earlier this year on the possibility of working together in a future coalition.

The mainstream political parties believe the Greens could play kingmaker after next year’s poll, and are cosying up to a party that currently holds seven seats. An internal working group set up by the Greens on coalition options is focusing on confidence-and-supply, a model that provides support to either a one-party or two-party minority government. The device, already used in Sweden and New Zealand, allows smaller parties to prop up a government without signing up to its entire agenda or accepting Cabinet places.

A Green source told the Sunday Herald that the blueprint could result in the party supporting an SNP-led Executive without entering into a formal coalition. It would mean the Greens backing Salmond as First Minister, as well supporting his budget and protecting him in the event of no-confidence votes tabled by opposition parties.

“The model is meant to allow minority government to work,” the source said. “It would allow us to build a relationship with a party that we can work with on certain issues.” In return for supporting Salmond, the Greens would expect assurances on “red line” issues that would be closed down for one four-year term. The party would insist on no new nuclear power stations being built in Scotland as one of the “bare minimum” guarantees.

The confidence-and-supply option was discussed at recent meetings between the parties, where the proposal is said to have been met positively by the SNP. The only major obstacle preventing a deal, said the Green source, was the presence of Fergus Ewing as Nationalist transport spokesman.

Ewing, who is on the right of the SNP, is deeply unpopular amongst Green activists, who describe him as a “petrol head.” Green MSP Mark Ballard confirmed his party was looking at a model that could put Salmond in Bute House.

“We are looking seriously at the confidence-and-supply model among a range of different models. I personally think, looking at the experience of green parties around the world, that it could be the best option. It would reflect the new politics that people expected to see in the Scottish Parliament,” he said.

SNP leader Alex Salmond said the confidence-and-supply model had been discussed during his talks with the Greens. We are talking about a proportional parliament and so we have to work with other parties. That model is one of a number of possibilities. It is a model worth considering,” he said.

A spokesman for Scottish Labour dismissed the potential pact.

“Neither the Greens nor the SNP should count their coalition chickens before they are hatched, otherwise they might end up with egg on their face. It seems odd the Greens would want to support the oil-obsessed and inexperienced Nationalists with their plans to rip Scotland out of the UK,” he said. [obviously a bit thick - the Greens support independence! JOE]

07 May 2006 (Sunday Herald)