Stephen Flynn ‘bounced Humza Yousaf' into ditching Bute House Agreement and Greens, SNP MPs claim

The Bute House Agreement was ended by First Minister Humza Yousaf

Stephen Flynn “bounced Humza Yousaf” into ditching the Bute House Agreement and it is his party now, SNP MPs have suggested.

The SNP Westminster leader is reported to have encouraged the First Minister to abandon his party’s partnership with the Scottish Greens, with the decision made after an emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday morning.

One MP told The Scotsman Mr Flynn had encouraged Mr Yousaf to end the arrangement, which will now see the SNP run a minority Government.

Stephen Flynn said the First Minister had acted in the "national interest".

One said: “It’s clear Humza is in the dangerous territory of being shaped by events, rather than shaping them. He says he has a clear policy agenda, so it’s time to show us. Ditch some of the rubbish and get Scotland building and moving.

"Flynn has bounced the First Minister into this. It’s his party now.”

Others were less sure of how the decision came about, but were deeply critical of the First Minister and how the situation was handled.

They told The Scotsman: “I’m not so sure, it could make things tricky for us in a few seats at the general election.

“I think the Bute House Agreement ending is both a good and a bad thing – good that it deranges us from them and their priorities, which I don't think align with Scotland’s, but bad ‘cause it makes delivering our programme so much harder.

“Also, the way Humza has went about it, they'll now be a nightmare to keep on side.”

Another suggested the Scottish Greens had very strong polling, and the Scottish Government’s struggles were natural after so many years in Government.

The MP said: “It is what it is. We’ve been in power a long time, and Humza needs to get on top of what they want to do, because there’s been too many times we’ve needed a reset.”

Others were more critical, accusing the Scottish Greens of behaving like children. One said: “Lorna [Slater’s] letter was childish. It reeked of a child throwing their toys out of the pram.

“If the Greens don’t support our next budget and side with the Tories, then they have lots of questions to answer.”

For his part, Mr Flynn suggested the First Minister removing the Greens was in the “national interest”.

He said: "The First Minister has shown leadership in the national interest. As the party for all of Scotland, we work to deliver jobs and economic growth, protect the future of our NHS and provide support in a cost-of-living crisis”.

It comes as Mr Flynn spent Wednesday visiting Holyrood, having been spotted in discussions with constitution, external affairs and culture secretary Angus Robertson.

Asked whether Mr Yousaf discussed ending the Bute House Agreement with Mr Flynn, who visited Holyrood on Wednesday, the First Minister’s spokesperson said: "He takes counsel from a wide variety of people all the time, actually.

"He has said many times that he has an open door policy. He does follow through on that and his door is open and it has been very open right across the party over the last few months."

Mr Yousaf discussed his decision on the Greens deal with MPs in a zoom call on Thursday afternoon, in a meeting described by an attendee as “reassuring until you thought about it”.

Throughout the SNP parliamentary group, a sense of relief was expressed to The Scotsman they were no longer working with the Greens.

SNP MP Alyn Smith said: “Having sat in the Green group in the European Parliament for 16 years, I know co-operation can work, but it takes maturity and responsibility.

“The Greens could not expect to inflict weeks of drama on us with consequences, so I can well see why Humza wanted to take control of things.”

Writing on X, SNP MP Joanna Cherry celebrated the decision. She said: “The ending of the Bute House Agreement is a huge opportunity for the SNP to reset our agenda in government.

"Out with identity politics & virtue signalling. In with policies to tackle the bread & butter issues that our constituents bring up on the doorsteps.”

SNP MP and former defence spokesperson Stewart McDonald said: “I hoped the BHA [Bute House Agreement] could have lasted, but it had become a political distraction and, in some ways, an obstacle.

“That being said, the responsibility now falls on us to build the prosperous and resilient Scotland voters want. This represents an opportunity for a reset across all political parties, not just my own. It’s no time for a descent into self-indulgent carping and chaos”.

Former first minister and Alba Party leader Alex Salmond said Mr Yousaf had meanwhile made his party’s Holyrood member, Ash Regan, the "most powerful MSP in the Scottish Parliament".

Ms Regan, who defected from the SNP in October last year, said her decision over a looming no-confidence vote in the First Minister would “entirely depend on the reply that I get from him" to a letter sent on Thursday.

Liberal Democrats MP for Orkney and Shetland Alistair Carmichael said: “When Humza Yousaf talks about the evils of ‘Westminster control’, he must have been thinking of his own colleagues.

"It appears that the shots are now being called from the SNP’s London branch. Humza Yousaf may now be more worried about orders from Stephen Flynn than anything Rishi Sunak or [Scottish Secretary] Alister Jack do or say.

“The First Minister is kindly doing all the awkward work of ditching inconvenient policies and partners so that when he inevitably bows out, Mr Flynn or Kate Forbes will have an easier time taking over.

“That is very generous of him, but the country needs a leader who is not in the pocket of his leadership rivals. A First Minister this weak has got to go.”