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The SNP has terminated its power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens following a bitter row over its climbdown on climate targets.

It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf summoned a meeting of his Cabinet – usually held on a Tuesday – this morning following speculation over the future of the Holyrood deal, first struck by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.

The deal, signed in 2021, was designed to facilitate governing between the two pro-independence parties in Holyrood.

But signs it was running into difficult came after the Scottish government scrapped its commitment to cut emissions by 75% by 2030.

The climate announcement also came on the same day that the prescription of puberty blockers for new patients under the age of 18 at a Glasgow gender identity service would be paused.

It means Mr Yousaf’s administration will now run a minority government at Holyrood.

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Lorna Slater, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, accused the SNP of an “act of political cowardice” and of “selling out future generations to appease the most reactionary forces in the country”.

“They have broken the bonds of trust with members of both parties who have twice chosen the co-operation agreement and climate action over chaos, culture wars and division,” she said. “They have betrayed the electorate.

“And by ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signalled that when it comes to political cooperation, he can no longer be trusted.”

It is understood the first minister will hold a press conference this morning in the wake of the announcement. The Greens are also expected to talk to the media.

The power-sharing deal with the Greens, also known as the Bute House agreement, brought the party into government for the first time anywhere in the UK.

Named after the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh, it gave the SNP a majority in the Scottish parliament when its votes there were combined with those of the seven Green MSPs.

It created ministerial posts for the Scottish Green Party’s co-leaders Ms Slater and Patrick Harvie.

As well as the watering down of climate targets, the Greens were also dismayed at the pause of puberty blockers in the wake of the landmark Cass review into the landmark Cass review of gender services for under-18s in England and Wales.

Last week the Greens said it would hold a vote on the future of the Bute House Agreement and Mr Harvie urged members to back it so the party could “put Green values into practice” in government.

But in the statement released today, Ms Slater said Green members were now not going to have a “democratic say” on the agreement, adding: “The most reactionary and backwards-looking forces within the first minister’s party have forced him to do the opposite of what he himself had said was in Scotland’s best interests.”

“If they can’t stand up to members of their own party, how can anyone expect them to stand up to the UK government at Westminster and defend the interests of Scotland?”

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Uphold to delist USDT and 5 stablecoins by July 1, citing MiCA

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Uphold to delist USDT and 5 stablecoins by July 1, citing MiCA

Apart from Uphold, other major crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken and OKX, also tweaked their stablecoin listing policies to comply with MiCA regulations.

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‘Over my cold, dead corpse’: Ruth Davidson says Conservatives would be ‘imbecilic’ to let in Farage

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'Over my cold, dead corpse': Ruth Davidson says Conservatives would be 'imbecilic' to let in Farage

Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson says allowing Nigel Farage to join the Conservatives would be “imbecilic” and would only happen “over my cold, dead corpse”.

The Reform UK leader used the launch of his party’s policy document to set out his pitch to “become a real opposition” to Labour, which will form the next government after the general election, according to the polls.

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Mr Farage said he had no intention of joining the Tories if he wins a seat in the constituency of Clacton in Essex on 4 July but refused to categorically rule out his future membership.

Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, ex-Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika said she believes he will win and cross the floor and join the Conservatives.

“I think he’s going to do a bit of a Trump,” she said, arguing he will take over the Tories in the same way Donald Trump did to the Republican Party.

But Baroness Davidson said there will be a “big fight” between members over whether to allow Mr Farage to join.

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“I was going to say over my cold, dead corpse,” she said.

“I think the party would be absolutely imbecilic to let somebody who has stood against the party… who’s stated aim is to destroy the Conservative Party… to let them in, in order to mount a full takeover and be this kind of parasitic worm that takes over its host.

“No, no. I think there’ll be a lot of Tories that actually decide to stand and fight.”

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Will Nigel Farage join the Tories?

Baroness Davidson said she thinks the Conservatives would become more right wing if they lose the general election and “there will be a fight for the soul of the Tory party”.

“I think there will be a lot of people that realise that perhaps their wing isn’t in the ascendancy, but there are extinction events,” she said.

“And something like Nigel Farage taking over might be an extinction event and it’s worth fighting for.”

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The other candidates standing in Clacton are:

• Matthew Bensilum, Liberal Democrats

• Craig Jamieson, Climate Party

• Tony Mack, Independent

• Natasha Osben, Green Party

• Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labour Party

• Tasos Papanastasiou, Heritage Party

• Andrew Pemberton, UKIP

• Giles Watling, Conservative Party

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Signal boss slams EU’s latest ‘upload moderation’ surveillance ploy

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Signal boss slams EU’s latest ‘upload moderation’ surveillance ploy

The Chat Control law is aimed at combating child exploitation material, but Meredith Whittaker said it’s just the latest proposed tactic to undermine encryption.

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