SNP split from Greens boosts Keir Starmer’s election chances, say Labour insiders

As first minister Humza Yousaf fights to stay in power, sources believe fallout from defunct coalition could help Labour win seats at general election

An increasingly bitter split between the SNP and the Greens has brought even more Scottish parliamentary seats into play for Keir Starmer, Labour figures believe, amid a desperate fight by the first minister, Humza Yousaf, to stay in power.

Yousaf has already refused to rule out a Holyrood election as he faces damaging no-confidence motions this week. On Saturday he wrote to the leaders of Scotland's political parties in an attempt to find common ground" following his decision to axe a coalition with the Scottish Greens that had propped up his government. Yousaf maintained that it would be a poor choice" for the Greens to back a no-confidence motion in his minority government.