LONDON (Reuters) -The Scottish National Party (SNP) will lead a minority government in Scotland after its coalition with the Green Party collapsed on Thursday over tensions about climate change targets, Sky News reported.
Scotland's move to scrap its climate change goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 last week had put pressure on the coalition agreement which was struck in 2021 after the nationalists failed to secure an outright majority.
The SNP has been in charge of the Scottish administration since 2011, but its poll leads have started to wane after Nicola Sturgeon stepped down in early 2023. She has since been arrested and questioned over the party's finances.
She denies any wrongdoing.
The SNP currently has 63 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) out of 129, with the Green Party holding seven. Both parties support Scottish independence.
The Conservative Party has 31 MSPs, and the Labour Party - once the dominant force in Scotland - has 22.
Earlier this month, a YouGov poll put Britain's opposition Labour Party slightly ahead of the SNP for the first time since Scotland held an independence referendum in 2014.
SNP leader Humza Yousaf is likely to lead a minority government, without the support of the Greens.
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; writing by Kate Holton, editing by Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle)
