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Scottish Greens' compromise keeps zombie care Bill alive
STEPHEN LOW details how the Scottish Greens’ retreat from full opposition to the Bill gives the SNP the opportunity to revive this toxic legislation and push through privatisation under the cover of popular reforms
PROPPING UP THE SNP: Scottish Green Party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater during their 2023 party conference

REPORTS of the death of the Scottish government’s National Care Service Bill are, as Mark Twain might have put it, an exaggeration.

The Scottish government announced on Thursday that it is pausing but not abandoning its Bill. It is the latest episode in what has become Holyrood’s longest-running farce.

The Bill is currently at stage two of its parliamentary progress. This involves consideration of the Bill by a parliamentary committee (in this case, the health, social care and sport committee).

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