Greens 'not willing' to bring down SNP budget

Patrick Harvie - Scottish Parliament

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay is likely to see his budget pass its first hurdle in the Scottish Parliament today after Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie said his party was "not willing" to see emergency cuts if it voted it down at this stage.

The SNP does not have an overall majority in Holyrood and therefore requires the backing of at least one other party to pass its spending plans. 

Talks have been held with the Greens and the Liberal Democrats, with the former asking for more progressive taxation plans, while the latter has asked for up to £400m extra spending.

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Today's vote, however, is about whether parliament backs the budget 'in principal'.

Harvie told the BBC's Politics Scotland programme: "If parties just dug their feet in and said 'my way or the highway' then the whole thing would fall and we would begin to see emergency cuts being made to public services across Scotland.

"I'm not willing to see that happen, but I am entirely willing to put pressure on the Scottish government to give ground on the position that it's taken so far."

Mackay said: “I do not expect that all parties will agree with every aspect of the draft budget but there are large areas that should have unanimous support.

"This is a Parliament of minorities and we must all recognise that compromise is the only way any party will be able to make good on the promises it made to the people of Scotland. I am confident that those who share that view will find the common ground needed to come to agreement, support this Budget and invest in our crucial public services.”

Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said his party's demands had been "clear and reasonable".

“The SNP do not have a majority. They have just a few hours left to have a change of heart and to make the significant compromises needed to build consensus across the parliament," he said.

“Despite making considerable effort to engage in constructive talks with the Scottish Government we are firm that if we do not see the changes we believe the country needs then we will vote against the budget."

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said Mackay should "come round to the idea" of lowering taxes.

“We will talk constructively with the Scottish Government’s about its budget plans – so long as it abandons its bid to make Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK," he said.

Scottish Labour has tabled an amendment to prevent cuts to local authority budgets.

Leader Kezia Dugdale said: "The SNP has spent years campaigning as an anti-cuts party. If the Nationalists don't support Labour's fully costed plan to stop the £327 million cuts then their hypocrisy will be there for all to see. 

"Labour will not vote for any SNP budget that cuts £327 million from local services like schools and care of the elderly." 

The final vote on the budget would see separate votes on tax and spending proposals in parliament in the week beginning 20 February.