THE GREENS Patrick Harvie looked like a man who had lost a vote yesterday rather than someone who had won a political victory.

Patrick Harvie looked like a man who had lost a vote yesterday rather than someone who had won a political victory.

The co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, to use his full title, appeared to speaking more in sorrow than anger when he insisted that he and colleague Robin Harper had felt obliged to vote down the Budget Bill.

"I see there are others celebrating this defeat of the government but that is not the way we feel," an uneasy Mr Harvie told The Herald.

He said he had wanted to do a deal with the Finance Secretary but felt that even the final announcement in John Swinney's summing-up had been just too short on detail.

He said the 11th hour promise of an additional £11m for insulation schemes had been too vague, with the notion that the additional money might come from local authorities or other agencies simply fanciful in the current climate.

Mr Harvie was one of the stars of the second intake of Green MSPs who came in after Robin Harper blazed a trail in 1999. Along with Mr Harper, the Glasgow MSP was the only other survivor of the electoral cull two years ago and it was no surprise that he became co-convener of his party.

As one of Holyrood's few openly gay members he has taken a lead on gender and civil liberties issues in addition to the party's main environmental agenda.

Mr Harvie is one of the best speakers at Holyrood in terms of both set pieces and interventions. Since taking over the leadership from Robin Harper he has looked to raise his profile and engage with the SNP Government, which makes his stance yesterday all the more surprising.

Mr Harvie and his party have been given the green carpet by ministers, including a dedicated senior civil servant for them to liaise with. He may find that the carpet is even more plush next week - or he may find it is withdrawn altogether given the anger of government ministers yesterday.