A POWER-SHARING deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens was agreed today, with leaders promising improvements for tenants, a multi-million pound investment in rail and a just transition for workers. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled the draft plans, which would see the Greens support the government in votes of confidence and during budgets this parliamentary term. 

On Saturday the SNP’s national executive will vote to ratify the deal, while a majority of Scottish Greens members will need to back the proposals next weekend alongside two-thirds of the party’s council. 

The move would see two Green MSPs become ministers but falls short of a full coalition, with areas of disagreement between the two outlined – meaning the Greens can remain in opposition on areas such as private schooling and membership of Nato. 

Ms Sturgeon, along with Green co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie, said that the deal represented work for the “common good,” with promises to implement a national system of rent controls by 2025 and invest £5 billion in Scotland’s rail network. 

The deal would deliver a national care service and education reforms, as well as embedding fair work principles into public procurement – preventing companies utilising fire and rehire from gaining contracts.  

The Greens claim that a proposed expansion of renewable energy capacity would create thousands of jobs alongside the creation of a green industrial fund to aid a just transition away from oil and gas.

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said that the union organisation will continue to push both parties hard to deliver pay justice.

She welcomed the emphasis on rent controls and a green recovery from Covid-19 but claimed the lack of commitment to bringing buses into public ownership was disappointing.

The RMT called on the Scottish Greens to back more rail investment and jobs, while the GMB urged the party to maintain its support for a £15-an-hour wage for care workers. 

Tenants’ union Living Rent said that the new deal for tenants would be “utterly transformative” for people across Scotland

But Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that the power-sharing agreement would be a disaster for Scotland, claiming that it would see the Greens endorsing the SNP’s track record on everything from austerity to the environment.

Friends of the Earth Scotland also warned that more could be done on the environment — particularly oil and gas — but said that the deal would lead to stronger action for the climate.