Bute House Agreement: What has been ditched one year on from axing SNP-Greens deal

The Scotsman takes a look at what policies from the Bute House Agreement have been scrapped one year on.

They say a year is a long time in politics - so it can be hard to remember that it has only been 12 months since the Bute House Agreement ended.

Loved by some, hated by others, the co-operation agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens was groundbreaking for the two years it was in place.

Signed on August 20, 2021 between former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and the Greens’ co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, the agreement involved the Government consulting with the Greens on its legislative programme and parliamentary business. In turn, the Greens were forced to support the Government on its bills, legislation and votes of no confidence.

Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater with former first minister Nicola Sturgeon after reaching the Bute House Agreement in 2021 | Johnston Press

It also gave the SNP Government a security blanket in what would otherwise have been a minority government. However, the deal was ultimately torpedoed by former first minister Humza Yousaf - a move that triggered a series of events that ended in him handing back his keys to Bute House.

Over the past year, many of the policies in the agreement have been watered down or just completely thrown in the bin by the new government led by John Swinney.

Speaking to The Steamie, The Scotsman’s politics podcast, Mr Harvie said: “We are seeing proposals of rent controls and a whole host of climate measures from heating in buildings to transport policy starting to go in the wrong direction over the last year.

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“I very much miss the ability to deliver on that. Two-and-a-half years gave us the time to get a lot of stuff started, but it doesn’t give you the time to get very much finished, and that is deeply frustrating.”

Mr Harvie added: “We are already losing the chances of making Scotland a fairer, more equal, greener place. More bits of policy are being reduced and are going to be reduced further as they are watered down, delayed or ditched.”

Some of the broader policy pledges committed to in the Bute House Agreement were almost always going to be unachievable, such as securing a second independence referendum and re-joining the European Union.

Let’s take a look at some of the other policies which have fallen victim to the agreement’s end.

Scottish Green Party co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie speak to the media at the Scottish Parliament after First Minister Humza Yousaf terminated the Bute House agreement with immediate effect | Press Association

Gender reforms and conversion therapy

Probably the biggest of the scrapped policies is gender reform - although the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by MSPs, it was subsequently blocked by the former Conservative UK government and never received royal assent.

Mr Swinney has since quashed any hopes of reviving the legislation.

A ban on conversion therapy is also not progressing as quickly as the Greens might have liked.

Housing

Another big part of the agreement was on housing. While the Greens were able to implement rent controls, a ban on winter evictions was only temporary. The party has since lodged proposals to try and bring the ban back on a permanent basis.

Insight: Minor achievements, major failures, and even bigger rows – the underwhelming legacy of the Bute House Agreement

Climate change

Last month Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin told parliament the draft Heat in Buildings Bill, which aimed to make it easier for homeowners to switch to greener heating, would no longer be put forward in its existing form.

On tackling climate change, only earlier this week The Scotsman reported the Government is ditching its target to reduce car use by 20 per cent by 2030.

Marine protection and deposit return scheme

Other controversial policies such as designating 10 per cent of Scotland’s waters as highly-protected marine areas were scrapped and the deposit return scheme was blocked by the UK government and the SNP government is now facing a £200 million court case.

Other policies

The idea of a National Care Service has been scrapped despite tens of millions of pounds being spent on the idea - the Scottish Greens even withdrew their support for the proposals in October last year despite it being a feature of the Bute House Agreement.

There are plenty of other commitments which have fallen to the wayside, including commitments to expand the railway in the north-east to places like Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

That is not to say nothing was achieved. The Scottish Child Payment was increased, free bus travel was expanded and plans are progressing to establish a third national park.

And it has not hampered the Greens, who have vowed to continue trying to achieve change from the backbenches and are polling well a year on from the end of their stint in government.

The Scottish Government did not directly address the ending of the Bute House Agreement. But a spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is focused on the First Minister’s priorities: eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, improving public services such as our NHS, and tackling the climate crisis. Ministers were pleased to secure cross-party support for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget enabling us to deliver on these priorities.

“We will set out further detail next month as part of the 2025-26 Programme for Government.”