A TORY MSP has submitted a motion of no confidence against the Scottish Government minister Lorna Slater.
Slater, the minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity has faced criticism as the MSP leading the portfolio in charge of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme.
The minister, who is also the Scottish Green co-leader, also faced outrage among the opposition earlier this month after it emerged she chartered a private catamaran in favour of taking a ferry operated by Government-owned CalMac – which would have cost £9.40 for a return ticket.
The motion lodged on Monday, June 19 by Tory MSP Liam Kerr states: “That the Parliament has no confidence in the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, in light of the failure of the proposed Scottish Deposit Return Scheme.”
As per parliamentary rules, if a no confidence motion gets support from 25 MSPs the Parliamentary Bureau schedules it for debate. As this motion has, it is expected MSPs will discuss the motion in a debate and vote.
Lodging a no confidence vote against Lorna Slater is a “cynical and shameless political stunt” by a “desperate and disgraced” Tory Party that is trying to distract from its many shortcomings, say the Scottish Greens.
The Greensco-leader, Patrick Harvie MSP, has slammed the Tories saying that only they would have the “audacity” to move a confidence motion in the leader of another party on the same evening that MPs were voting to seal the fate of their "lying, duplicitous and shamed" former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Harvie said: “This is a cynical and shameless political stunt by an increasingly desperate and disgraced Tory Party that has purposely sabotaged the Deposit Return Scheme that they themselves voted for and that was on the brink of going live. This is a clear attempt to distract from their many failings.
“Lorna has been at the forefront of delivering a fairer, greener and better Scotland. She has overseen a record investment in wildlife and nature, an end to new incineration and a ban on the worst single-use plastics. She always puts Scotland first.
“I am proud to work with Lorna in her capacity as a party co-leader and as a Minister. The politics that she represents are everything that the Tories rail against, so it is no wonder that they are attacking her in the spiteful, and often misogynistic way they have done for months.
“Only the Tories would have the audacity to move a motion of no confidence in the leader of another party on the very same evening that MPs were voting to seal the fate of their lying, duplicitous and shamed former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“Do they really think they can divert attention away from the partygate scandal that easily, even as a video is still trending online from their Christmas celebrations at Tory HQ, taken while people were unable to say a proper goodbye to loved ones?"
On the parliamentary website, it states the motion is supported by: Jeremy Balfour, Miles Briggs, Alexander Burnett, Donald Cameron, Jackson Carlaw, Finlay Carson, Sharon Dowey, Russell Findlay, Murdo Fraser, Meghan Gallacher, Maurice Golden, Pam Gosal, Jamie Greene, Dr. Sandesh Gulhane, Jamie Halcro Johnston, Rachael Hamilton, Craig Hoy, Stephen Kerr, Douglas Lumsden, Roz McCall, Edward Mountain, Oliver Mundell, Douglas Ross, Graham Simpson, Liz Smith, Alexander Stewart, Sue Webber, Annie Wells, Tess White, Brian Whittle.
Harvie added: “Their cynical, repugnant attempts to con the public into ignoring the blue on blue in-fighting within the Tory party which is ripping apart this scandal-hit, dysfunctional Westminster government in its dying days will not work.
“This is the last act of a discredited Tory party hell bent on burning down the house before they are shown the door. The Scottish Green Party will never give in to their shameless attempts to undermine democracy in Scotland.”
Slater told Holyrood on June 7 that Scotland's DRS will be delayed until at least October 2025 after the UK Government refused to allow glass to be included.
The MSP said that the UK Government had given "no justification" for its decision to refuse to give an Internal Market Act (IMA) exemption for glass and that the Scottish Government had been put in an "impossible position" by attempting to push ahead with the recycling scheme ahead of the rest of the UK.
Slater said the Tories were attempting to force the Scottish Government to ask businesses to comply with UK-wide regulations "that we haven't seen yet".
