Highland Coup II… now Kate slams SNP eco policy
Humza ‘not losing sleep’ as split deepens
THE schism within the SNP over its power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens deepened last night as Kate Forbes took another swipe at her own party’s eco plans – while Humza Yousaf said he did not ‘lose a minute of sleep’ over the row.
In a move set to further rankle the Nationalist ‘Old Guard’, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch has used a column in a publication to condemn the Scottish Government’s proposals to reach net zero by 2045, which she fears could disproportionately impact the Highlands and Islands.
The former finance secretary also raged that those in rural areas feel ‘their views and perspectives are irrelevant in the ideological pursuit of certain, laudable’ green policies.
She said rural Scotland is being ‘expected to accept devastation and carnage’ owing to the construction of wind farms, and ‘sacrifice a peaceful outlook for noisy pylons’.
In the piece – set to be published next month but obtained by The Mail on Sunday – Ms Forbes suggested that people living in the Highlands and Islands should get discounted energy bills, given that so much of Scotland’s renewable energy comes from the North.
The stinging criticism comes after Ms Forbes last week opened the door to another crack at the SNP leadership, saying she would ‘never say never’ to running again and claiming the SNP could do with a ‘Highlander at the helm’.
This newspaper told how a group of Highlands and Islands Nationalist MSPs were arranging what some insiders are humorously calling a ‘Highland coup’ in a bid to part from the Greens once and for all.
According to one source, the SNP politicians fear the party will face ruinous losses at the ballot box owing to Green policies that threaten to disproportionally impact rural Scotland. One person said: ‘I don’t see the SNP going anywhere without Kate Forbes in charge.’
The power-sharing deal allows the Greens to be party to a joint policy platform covering briefs including independence, housing, transport and climate change.
When first voted on following the 2021 Holyrood election, the agreement received the support of around 95 per cent of SNP members.
But a poll last week by Survation for the True North PR agency showed it was now supported by only 28 per cent of the public.
It also found electoral support for the SNP stands at 37 per cent, just two points ahead of Labour in voting intentions for the next Westminster election. Speaking to The Mail on Sunday yesterday, Mr Yousaf said: ‘I’ll not be ending the Bute House Agreement, it is endorsed by 95 per cent of our members.’
Asked if he was worried about a leadership challenge behind his back, he said: ‘Not in the slightest. I don’t lose a single minute of sleep over it.’
Yet as her party flounders, Ms Forbes has written in her column about her fears that the Highlands ‘will be expected to disproportionally bear the burden for our country’s transition to net zero’.
She adds: ‘On every policy area it feels like rural Scotland is expected to cough up without much in return.’
The Scottish Government said: ‘We need bold action to tackle the climate emergency. Scotland has extensive renewable generation capabilities with which to accelerate the just transition to net zero.’
Don’t laugh, but this so-called ‘Highland coup’ could chase off hapless Humza ‘Rural Scotland is expected to cough up’