Scottish Greens

Scottish Greens. The Scottish Greens are a green, progressive, and pro-independence political party in Scotland. Formed in 1990, it is part of the wider Global Greens movement and has grown to become a significant force in devolved politics, notably through a cooperation agreement with the Scottish National Party (SNP) government from 2021. The party advocates for policies centred on environmental justice, social equality, and a Green New Deal for Scotland.

History

The party's roots lie in the UK Green Party, with activists in Scotland campaigning under that banner throughout the 1980s, including in elections such as the 1984 European Parliament election. It formally constituted as a separate entity, the Scottish Green Party, in 1990 following internal debates about political devolution. The party gained its first national representation with the election of Robin Harper to the new Scottish Parliament in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, making him the UK's first elected Green parliamentarian. A period of growth followed, with the party winning its first seats on Edinburgh City Council and other local authorities. A significant internal shift occurred in 2019 when party members voted to explicitly support Scottish independence, aligning with the broader Yes Scotland movement. This paved the way for the landmark Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Government led by Nicola Sturgeon in 2021, which saw two Green MSPs, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, appointed as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity respectively.

Policies and ideology

The party's ideology synthesizes core tenets of Green politics with a distinct Scottish civic nationalist perspective. Its central platform is a comprehensive Green New Deal, aiming to rapidly decarbonize the economy through a just transition, massive investment in renewable energy, and the creation of green jobs. This is coupled with strong advocacy for public transport expansion, a Circular economy, and opposition to new North Sea oil and gas exploration. On social policy, the Greens champion participatory democracy, drug policy reform, the implementation of a Universal basic income, and extensive tenants' rights and land reform. The party is also known for its progressive stances on issues like LGBTQ+ rights, migrant rights, and republicanism. Its commitment to Scottish independence is framed as a means to achieve these transformative social and environmental goals outside the structures of the Westminster system.

Organisation and structure

The Scottish Greens are a member-led party, with ultimate authority vested in its biannual Conference, which sets policy. Day-to-day governance is managed by a National Council and an Executive Committee, both elected by the membership. The party is organized into regional branches across Scotland, which coordinate local campaigning and select candidates for local government and Scottish Parliament regional list elections. The party's youth wing is known as the Young Greens of Scotland. It maintains fraternal links with other green parties globally through the European Green Party and the Global Greens network. The party's co-leaders, a distinctive feature of its structure, serve as its public faces and principal spokespeople.

Electoral performance

The party employs an electoral strategy focused primarily on the proportional regional list ballots for the Scottish Parliament, where it has achieved its greatest successes. Following the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, it became the fourth-largest party at Holyrood. Its best result to date came in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, where it won a record eight seats, leading to the Bute House Agreement. In local elections, it has steadily increased its number of councillors, gaining representation on authorities including Glasgow City Council, Edinburgh, and The Highland Council. At Westminster level, under the first-past-the-post system, it has not won a seat but has contested constituencies, often in alliance with the Scottish National Party or Plaid Cymru under the Unite to Remain banner during the 2019 United Kingdom general election.

Leadership

Since 2008, the party has been led by two co-leaders, one male and one female, elected by the membership. The longest-serving co-leaders are Patrick Harvie, who has served since 2008, and Lorna Slater, elected as his counterpart in 2019. Previous prominent leaders include its first MSP, Robin Harper, and Alison Johnstone, who served as co-convener before being elected as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament in 2021. Other notable figures in the party's history include Maggie Chapman, who served as co-convener from 2013 to 2019 and was the party's candidate for First Minister in 2014, and Andy Wightman, a former MSP known for his work on land reform.

Category:Political parties in Scotland Category:Green political parties in the United Kingdom Category:1990 establishments in Scotland