SNP election result would have been worse had Greens deal not ended – Flynn

The party’s Westminster leader said the powersharing agreement ‘wasn’t working’ before it was axed by Humza Yousaf.

The SNP would have fared worse in the general election if the coalition with the Greens had not ended, the party’s Westminster leader has said.

Former first minister Humza Yousaf ended the powersharing deal earlier this year over fears that Green members were set to scrap the agreement themselves.

The decision set off a chain of events which resulted in Mr Yousaf’s resignation.

Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater lost their ministerial positions when the deal was ended by Humza Yousaf (PA)

But Stephen Flynn – who had long made clear his discomfort with the deal – said had it still been in place on July 4, the SNP’s election drubbing would have been worse.

He told Holyrood magazine: “It wasn’t working.

“I think if we’d still been in coalition with the Greens, there wouldn’t be nine SNP MPs.”

Asked to clarify, Mr Flynn said: “It would be less.”

Stephen Flynn speaking in the Commons — Stephen Flynn said he would have fewer than the current eight SNP colleagues at Westminster had the Greens still been in Government in Scotland on July 4 (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA)

The party lost dozens of MPs in July, capping off 18 months of turmoil which has seen three leaders take the helm and a long-running police investigation into financial issues.

As part of the police probe, former chief executive – and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – Peter Murrell has been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged embezzlement of party funds and a report was later sent to the prosecution service.

Mr Flynn spoke as the party met in Edinburgh for its annual conference, with the event kicking off with a behind-closed-doors post-mortem of the election result hosted by leader John Swinney.

A spokesman for the Scottish Greens said: “The Scottish Greens have delivered an emergency rent freeze and protections for tenants across Scotland, free bus travel for young people and record investment to tackle the climate and nature emergencies. Which of these changes does Stephen Flynn think weren’t working?

“The Scottish Greens secured our strongest general election result to date while Stephen Flynn led a campaign that saw his party losing 38 MPs.”