Lorna Slater survives no confidence vote over deposit return scheme

The motion was defeated by 68 votes to 55 in the Scottish Parliament

The minister in charge of Scotland’s stalled deposit return scheme has survived a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament.

The Conservatives tabled the motion against Lorna Slater after branding her “out of her depth” and calling her position untenable.

But First Minister Humza Yousaf defended Ms Slater in Holyrood, insisting she “works every day to serve the people of Scotland”.

Lorna Slater. Picture: PA

The motion was defeated by 68 votes to 55, with the SNP and Greens voting against it and the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats voting for it. However, SNP MSP Fergus Ewing, a former minister, rebelled and also voted for the motion. He has been an outspoken critic of the scheme.

In a statement, he said he had voted “to seek a new minister appointed to take over this troubled matter to deal with the huge fallout of numerous compensation claims and reconsider afresh how best to achieve recycling objectives”.

An SNP spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have won this vote convincingly – one SNP MSP not abiding by the whip in this instance is an internal party matter, which will be considered by the chief whip in due course.”

Ms Slater, the Green circular economy minister, previously announced the deposit return scheme would be delayed until at least October 2025 after a row between Scottish and UK ministers. The UK Government had ruled the scheme north of the border could not go ahead with glass bottles included.

Circularity Scotland, the firm set up to administer the scheme, has now gone into administration.

Tory MSP Liam Kerr said: “Ministers have to be accountable and by any objective assessment of her performance, Lorna Slater has been found badly wanting. That’s why we brought forward this motion – and it’s a telling reflection of the minister’s gross ineptitude that MSPs from every party but her own backed it.”

The co-operation agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens, which gave the smaller party two ministerial positions, meant the motion stood little chance of passing.

Green MSP Ross Greer said: “This vote was the kind pathetic and transparent political stunt that we have come to expect from a cruel and incompetent Tory Party terrified of a progressive woman delivering the kind of bold change Scotland needs.

“With Scottish Greens in government we have delivered free bus travel for everyone under 22, a rent cap and eviction protections for tenants, record funding for nature restoration and so much more."