BACKLASH OVER THE COALITION OF CHAOS
SNP-Green deal a ‘disaster’ for business
NICOLA Sturgeon faces a growing backlash over her plans for a damag- ing ‘coalition of chaos’ with the Greens.
The First Minister has confirmed she is in talks with the party’s co-leader Patrick Harvie in an attempt to secure a proindependence majority on key issues at Holyrood.
But she was last night accused of threatening the future of tens of thousands of vital oil and gas jobs by courting a party intent on dismantling the industry.
Taxpayers were also warned that the pact could see concessions given to the Greens’ punitive tax plans, threatening livelihoods and the economy.
And rural workers said they would ‘take to the streets in protest’ if
they are ‘thrown under a bus’ by Miss Sturgeon.
Scottish Tory finance spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘The prospect of the Greens joining a coalition with the SNP is a nightmare prospect for economic growth across Scotland.
‘The Greens want to hammer people with punitive tax rises which has the potential to put our entire economic recovery at risk.’
Miss Sturgeon confirmed she is looking to form a ‘formal cooperation agreement’ and is engaged in talks with Mr Harvie and his colleagues.
These include Ross Greer, a 26-yearold university drop-out who in 2019 referred to Sir Winston Churchill as ‘a white supremacist mass murderer’ and in a tweet called for ‘full communism’.
Miss Sturgeon has admitted that the marriage of convenience could see a Green Party member taking on a ministerial role.
Yesterday, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said this would be a ‘disaster for anyone who was hoping to see an end to the SNP’s anti-business approach’.
At First Minister’s Questions, Mr Ross said: ‘Instead of business people who understand how to create jobs, it’s the Greens who might get a seat around the First Minister’s table: a party that doesn’t even believe in economic growth and wants to risk the entire oil and gas industry – and the tens of thousands of jobs its supports.
‘This SNP Government does need to reset its relationship with business. Does the First Minister honestly believe a coalition with the Greens is the way to do that?’
Miss Sturgeon said it was important to support a ‘strong, vibrant, sustainable economy’, adding: ‘It’s also vital – in fact, it’s a moral imperative – to do that in a way that meets our obligations to the planet and delivers our climate change targets.’
The Greens’ manifesto called for an end to new licences for oil and gas exploration. Tory MSP Liam Kerr has called an SNP-Greens pact a ‘coalition of chaos’ that could put economic recovery at risk.’
Fears have also been raised over a tax gap between the SNP and Greens, with a spokesman for Miss Sturgeon forced to claim she would ‘not deviate from her plans’.
The SNP pledged to freeze income tax in its manifesto, but Mr Harvie’s party vowed to explore a series of tax hikes, including a so-called millionaires’ tax, which would target land, property, pensions and assets.
But there are fears such taxes on landowners would hammer the rural economy.
The Scottish Gamekeepers Association warned this could result in ‘angry workers and families taking to the streets’.
Chairman Alex Hogg said: ‘The [Greens’] clinical cull of jobs, using emotive labelling, is not about biodiversity and climate, it is a misguided class war that will actually sacrifice over 13,000 rural workers and their families. We hope that the First Minister is not about to throw Scotland’s rural workforce under a bus.’
Greens MSP Mark Ruskell said: ‘Our manifesto committed to creating thousands of rural jobs through the restoration of nature and by strengthening and expanding our national parks.’
‘Sacrifice over 13,000 jobs’