Kate Forbes and John Swinney meet for SNP leadership talks

As discussions continue around the SNP leadership, one fact that remains is that after the end of the Bute House Agreement, the new first minister will lead a minority government.

This is not a new situation for the SNP. After the 2007 Holyrood election, Alex Salmond found himself leading a minority government of 47 MSPs.

Robert Hazell, professor of government at University College London, said he was able to govern by working collaboratively in parliament.

He says: “Alex Salmond was able to govern very effectively by building individual support agreements with different parties.

“He also managed expectations very well by saying to the parliament and the public … ‘my government is likely to be defeated quite often but that’s not going to be an issue of confidence, we’ll have to negotiate our way, bill by bill, measure by measure and get support in the parliament for everything we do.

“Minority government is a challenge for the opposition as it is for the government, because the opposition cannot automatically oppose everything all of the time.

“They have to behave more responsibly in terms of picking and choosing which measures they’re going to support and oppose.”