The Scottish Greens are close to an agreement to enter government for the first time in UK history | UK news

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The Scottish Greens are close to a deal that would see them enter government for the first time in British history.

Green MSPs will share power if they can strike an agreement with Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Department.

Talks were ongoing between the two parties about a formal power-sharing arrangement for Scotland.

Photo: Scottish Greens

It would not amount to a full alliance and would, instead, become a “cooperation agreement” allowing unity in the policies in which they agreed and differing in the areas in which they did not agree.

A source close to the talks told Sky News that government employees were also involved in the discussions, regarding “where the liability traces are”.

Similarities have been drawn to the deal between the New Zealand Green Party and the country’s ruling Labor Party, in which Green Party MPs have held ministerial portfolios.

SNP government ministers are due to finish their posts at a cabinet meeting on Friday morning.

If an agreement is reached, a public announcement is expected later in the day although the Scottish Green Party will put the proposal to its party members for ratification at a meeting on August 28.

Currently, Nicholas Sturgeon’s SNP is the ruling party in Holyrood, but it falls short of one seat on the overall majority of MSPs.

In the past, the independence-supporting Scottish Green Party lent them their votes on an ad hoc basis.

The formal agreement will provide the numbers needed to increase certainty in government affairs, from passing budgets to paving the way for another independence referendum.

It should also boost the Scottish government’s green credentials in the run-up to COP26, the United Nations climate change summit to be held in Glasgow in November.

For their part, the Scottish Greens will flex their muscle on policy priorities around the climate crisis, in particular, in which they have criticized the SNP.

If any of their MSPs are given ministerial positions as part of a deal, expect them to hit the cabinet table on low-emissions zones, investment in renewables, and a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2026, as well as assurances about it. The net transition is zero.

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