SCOTLAND’S circular economy minister Lorna Slater survived a vote of no confidence this week, despite a rare SNP rebellion.

The motion of no confidence was tabled by Tory MSP Liam Kerr on Monday night, citing her handling of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). 

The Scottish Green co-leader had announced an 18-month delay to the scheme earlier this month, blaming the Westminster’s insistence that glass be dropped from the scheme.

It marked the end of a long-running constitutional tug-of-war between the British and Scottish governments on the matter, with Tory Scottish Secretary threatening to block the Scottish DRS claiming that it breached the 2020 UK Internal Market Act.

The delay was welcomed by the Scottish Licenced Trade Association at the time, but the decision left independent retailers furious.

Many of the had entered into contracts worth tens of thousands of pounds on “reverse vending machines” for bottles returns which would not not occur, leaving them threatening legal action against the Scottish government.

Matters became more challenging still for Ms Slater when, just hours before facing the vote of no confidence, she announced that the company formed to manage the DRS, Circularity Scotland, had folded.

She told MSPs that administrators had been appointed and blamed “the UK government’s 11th-hour intervention” for “undermining” DRS, as she faced questioning on what would happen to the £9 million investment in the company from the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Despite a rocky 24 hours, however, she survived the confidence vote, winning 68 votes to 55.

The combined votes of Labour, Tory and Liberal MSPs were joined by a single SNP rebel, Fergus Ewing.

Mr Ewing, scion of the SNP Ewing family dynasty, has been a long-term critic of DRS, and the Scottish Greens, memorably describing them in the chamber as “wine-bar revolutionaries” earlier this year.

In a statement he explained the minister “does not enjoy the confidence of business,” adding that a new minister was needed to “deal with the huge fallout of numerous compensation claims.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have won this vote convincingly” and described the rebellion as an “internal party matter.”

Labour’s Sarah Boyak said: “The mess that Lorna Slater has made of the DRS has put jobs at risk, left businesses out of pocket and wasted a valuable chance to boost recycling.

“No amount of spin and deflection can hide the fact that Lorna Slater is not up to the job.”