Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Tayside Green MSP Maggie Chapman has made decision on SNP coalition deal – but refuses to reveal how she’ll vote

The politician, who covers Dundee and Angus, says she'll "honour commitments" before saying if she supports party leader Patrick Harvie's call to stay in power.

North East Green MSP Maggie Chapman
North East MSP Maggie Chapman. Image: Supplied

Green MSP Maggie Chapman has refused to confirm whether she intends to support the power-sharing deal with the SNP – or try to bring it down.

Party members are being given a vote on the arrangement as part of the backlash at last week’s major climate target U-turn.

It has also been turned into a vote of confidence in party co-leader Patrick Harvie, who is a minister in the government thanks to the Bute House Agreement between the two groups at Holyrood.

But while Ms Chapman has decided how she’ll vote, the North East Scotland MSP refused to reveal her decision.

“I have made up my mind about the Bute House Agreement but I am not going to make this public at this stage,” she said.

“There are conversations with party members in the North East and beyond that I want to have first, and, of course, ongoing discussions with colleagues in parliament.

“I intend to honour my commitments to these groups before going public with any further comments.”

Scottish Green Party co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie. Image: PA
Scottish Green Party co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie. Image: PA

In an email, Ms Chapman explained she would eventually set out her views and reasoning to constituents.

A former Green co-leader, Ms Chapman is viewed as a more independently-minded Scottish Green representative and remains popular among party members.

A party insider said they think it’s likely Ms Chapman’s decision will be “quite influential”.

Other Green MSPs, including Mid Scotland and Fife representative Mark Ruskell, have already confirmed they support the deal.

What caused the SNP-Green fall out?

The future of the co-operation agreement between the two parties was thrown into doubt after the Scottish Government ditched its flagship climate target to cut emissions by 75% by 2030.

A pause on new prescriptions for puberty blockers at Scotland’s only gender clinic for young people also left Green members reeling.

They were quick to demand a vote following the U-turns, and many inside the party suspect they will vote to end the deal despite co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater calling for it to stay in place.

Joanna Cherry MP
It’s not just Scottish Green members who are unhappy, with nationalist MP Joanna Cherry calling for a similar vote in the SNP.

Mr Harvie, who said he recognised the “strength of feeling” among rank-and-file members, has confirmed he’ll quit if his party votes against him.

First agreed by Nicola Sturgeon after the last Holyrood election, the deal sets out an number of areas where the two party’s are aligned.

In return for two junior ministerial posts, it guarantees Scottish Green support the SNP government in major votes.

Highland SNP MSP Kate Forbes. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson.

Mr Yousaf has resisted calls from within his party to allow a similar vote, saying he hopes it would continue.

But the agreement has a number of vocal critics inside the SNP,  including former SNP ministers Kate Forbes and Fergus Ewing.

SNP MP Joanna Cherry called for a similar vote among nationalists, saying: “If we are to recover as a party from current challenges we need to address problems like this alliance with a deeply unpopular party on the doorsteps rather than sweeping them under the carpet.”

Asked about the first minister’s refusal to give SNP members a vote, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said Mr Yousaf was becoming “weaker by the day”.

SNP First Minister Humza Yousaf
First Minister Humza Yousaf has refused to give SNP members of vote on continuing the deal. Image: Kenzie Gillies/DC Thomson

He said: “Most of us can see how damaging the nationalist coalition has been, and now we are seeing senior SNP representatives calling out the failures of the government by having the Greens in government.

“Some of the worst policy failures, such as the deposit return scheme, can be traced back to Green ministers.

“Ultimately, if the Bute House Agreement falls it should be because the first minister has strength to remove the Greens but it looks like the Greens will walk away.

“That just sums up how weak Humza Yousaf’s leadership has been.”

Conversation