A VOTE of no confidence in Scotland’s deputy first minister has been scheduled for tomorrow, but already looks set to fall as the Scottish Greens say they will not support it.
The Scottish Tories tabled the motion two weeks ago as a threat to the position of John Swinney. They hoped he would release legal advice given to the Scottish Government before it decided to concede the judicial review brought by Alex Salmond after its botched handling of complaints against him.
MSPs twice voted to compel the Scottish Government to release the documents.
Swinney released some of the legal advice, but not to the satisfaction of the Scottish Tories, whose leader Douglas Ross decided to press on with his bid to oust the deputy FM.
READ MORE: Senior Tory MSPs 'not consulted' about Nicola Sturgeon no-confidence vote plan
The vote has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, but within minutes of the announcement of its going ahead, the Scottish Greens destroyed any hopes of removing Swinney, describing the vote as “opportunistic political theatre”.
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “The Scottish Greens will always defend the integrity of the Scottish Parliament, and that is why we backed the call for John Swinney to release evidence that the harassment committee and parliament had asked for.
“That evidence clearly showed the Scottish Government had failed the women who came forward, and this, rather than opportunistic political theatre, should be the focus.
“The Tories called it a screeching U-turn last week, but this week they still want a political scalp to show for it.
“The evidence provided cannot be both the bombshell revelation they claimed, and at the same time inadequate to draw conclusions on the issues that matter.”
Harvie added: “It’s clear from this naked attempt to undermine our democratic institutions, and from the line of questioning from their committee members, that the Scottish Conservatives have no interest in making sure women are supported coming forward with complaints in the future.
“For them, this vote of no confidence is a pathetic political game just weeks ahead of an election in which they have nothing positive to offer the people of Scotland.
“The Scottish Greens will remain focused on setting out a vision for making Scotland a better place.”
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