SNP tipped to bring in Greens for minority rule

THE SNP and the Greens were today expected to reach a deal at Holyrood ahead of Alex Salmond becoming First Minister in a minority government.

The agreement will stop short of a formal coalition, but the Greens will promise to back the Scottish Nationalists in votes of confidence and help get their budgets passed by parliament.

The arrangement will still leave the SNP well short of an overall majority. The Nationalists have 47 MSPs in the 129-seat parliament - just one more than Labour - and the Greens have two.

But the Lib Dems - whose 16 seats could make the difference - have refused to enter any discussions while the SNP remains committed to an independence referendum.

But an SNP insider said: "With tight parliamentary arithmetic, even a couple of extra votes can be crucial at times."

The deal is not expected to include an agreed programme for government, as previous Labour-Lib Dem coalitions did.

But the SNP is understood to have strengthened its commitments on carbon reduction targets and resisting any new nuclear power stations in Scotland.

The formal talks between the two parties began at St Andrew's House on Monday after a weekend of informal discussions on the phone.

The first session included Mr Salmond as SNP leader and Green co-leaders Robin Harper and Shiona Baird. But subsequent discussions have been led by SNP finance spokesman John Swinney and Greens MSP Patrick Harvie.

The SNP initially proposed a formal coalition, offering the Greens a ministerial post in charge of energy and the environment. And Nationalist spokesmen said the Greens appeared "increasingly interested" in the idea of full coalition.

But at the end of the first day of talks, when Mr Harper appeared with Mr Salmond on the steps of St Andrew's House, it was clear they were focussing on the Greens' preferred option of "confidence and supply" - the promise to vote with the government on issues of confidence and back the budget.

Differences over transport policies are one of the key reasons why the Greens felt unable to give fuller support to the SNP. The Nationalists are committed to scrapping Edinburgh's trams and building more roads, both of which fly in the face of Green policies.

After a full day of talks on Tuesday, the negotiators took a break for the MSPs' swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, which allowed them to take soundings from their wider parties.

The talks resumed yesterday and an SNP spokesman described them as "constructive and positive".

The two sides were due back at St Andrew's House today. A Green spokesman said: "We're expecting and hoping to draw things to a conclusion at some point today."

Mr Salmond is expected to be elected as Scotland's new First Minister on Wednesday.

He said his party was now focusing its efforts on running a minority government.

He said: "I'm very excited by the prospect.

"There will be huge challenges if that comes to pass in terms of how to administer government, but there's also huge opportunities, particularly in building a consensus parliament - in looking for support across a range of policies.

"It will make life interesting for the government and make life very exciting for the Parliament."