Neil Grey MSP, Humza Yousaf’s campaign manager has opened up on his boss’s cabinet choices and big talker issues, in his first major interview since joining the government.
In his first outing as the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, he shared views on disputes with former first minister rival Kate Forbes, the doomed deposit return scheme and the looming gender legislation battle.
And while he defended the “hugely complicated” bottle scheme, he was brought to task on the BBCs The Sunday Show, over his party’s obsession over “green industries”.
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Mr Gray also appeared to feed discrepancies in the timeline of events that led to former finance minister Ms Forbes rejecting a Rural affair position last week. And was forced to confront speculation that it was down to her refusal to get on board with a key element of the brief that would seek to ban coastal fishing.
The Green party policy, currently backed by the coalition cabinet, seeks to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA), a move deemed to be an ongoing disaster for the survival of coastal industries.
Mr Gray responded to the “cynical” accusation that this was Mr Yousaf’s plan to oust Forbes with the apparent demotion. He said: “I think that is more cynicism than was actually at play…He genuinely wanted Kate to be in his cabinet.”
It comes as Ms Forbes has said she is yet to be welcomed back to the party after being on maternity leave and said she would have taken the economy job if she was offered it. She also disputed claims from the SNP that she declined to spend more time with her family.
Mr Gray rebuffed any change from his support for the Gender Recognition Reform battle despite a recent Panelbase Poll putting support for the legal challenge at less than 20 per cent.
He also confirmed that the SNP government is yet to make a decision on the future of the Greens bottle scheme, an essential policy to their commitment to propping up the SNP majority but hated by a growing number of supermarkets and industry members.
Scottish Conservative Chairman Craig Hoy MSP said: “This is a confirmation from Neil Gray – who ran Humza Yousaf’s leadership campaign – that the new First Minister would rather pander to the extremist Greens than extend an olive branch to supporters of Kate Forbes.
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“…Neil Gray made it clear the Cabinet was formed to ensure they kept the Greens on side.”
“The civil war in the SNP is only set to deepen because of his desire to have the anti-growth, anti-business Greens at the heart of his Government. The Green tail is very much wagging the yellow SNP dog.
“From the flawed deposit return scheme to talk of legal action over the Gender reform Bill, Neil Gray made it clear the Cabinet was formed to ensure they kept the Greens on side.
“The public recognise these policies are flawed yet the nationalist coalition of chaos are unwilling to swallow their pride and admit that they have got this badly wrong.
“Only the Scottish Conservatives are holding this SNP-Green government to account for their overwhelming failures. Only we are focusing on the real priorities facing Scotland.”
Mr Gray said the SNPs goal is to “reset our relationship with the business community”. He added that there have been discussion on “how they can work with us and how we can work with him to realise that economic opportunity that we have going forward such as in the just transition, the net zero agenda and about the green industries that are coming through”.
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