SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes has said she is “relaxed” about the prospect of leading a minority government.
This comes after the Scottish Greens sent a message to the next SNP leader that committing to progressive values will be a “necessity” if the parties’ powersharing agreement is to continue.
The new leader of the SNP will be announced on Monday with either Humza Yousaf, Ash Regan or Forbes set to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.
Speaking to the Mail On Sunday, Forbes said: “I’m relaxed about leading a minority government. I have always held out the hand of partnership to the Greens and it’s for them to decide whether or not they can accept that.
“The SNP secured an independence referendum when we earned the public’s trust from governing and delivering on their priorities.
“We do that by governing on well and it matters more to govern well, even as a minority, than it is to dance to the tune played by another party.”
She added: “I have no fear of a minority government.”
Speaking at the Scottish Greens spring conference, co-leader Lorna Slater said they would only vote for the SNP’s new leader to become first minister “if they are committed to the politics of co-operation”.
Patrick Harvie, meanwhile, said: “I’m told Kate Forbes said that she wanted to continue working with us, even though she has made it clear in a televised debate that working together simply meant us accepting her agenda – that’s hardly the spirit of co-operation.”
Forbes responded to the Scottish Greens in her interview with the Mail On Sunday, saying that she would work with the party so long as they listened to the will of the people.
“As first minister I need to be clear I am there to serve all of Scotland and that means delivering on the people’s priorities, which, by the way, is the cost of living crisis, reforming the NHS and growing the economy”, she said.
Forbes continued: “And to do that I strongly believe in working with other parties in parliament, including the Greens.
“I have been at pains throughout the campaign to say that I am willing to work with them on the basis of the people’s priorities.”
Forbes’s comments come after Yousaf said that the next leader would “have to find a way of co-operating with the Greens”.
Asked about being a topic of conversation at the Scottish Greens conference, Forbes said: “It’s flattering, of course, to be the subject of conversation at another party’s conference. But it is the people who I am accountable to and not other parties.
“Ultimately it is for SNP members to determine who they want to be their leader – and not for the Greens.”
Speaking on The Sunday Show, Harvie added that it was not for the Scottish Greens to tell SNP members who to vote for but that the Bute House Agreement is dependent on whether or not the candidates shares their values.
