Candidate selection begins

The current session of the Scottish Parliament has been the most successful period in our party’s history. The work I delivered to put Scottish Green Party policy into practice has cut household bills, tackled the climate emergency, and helped build a safer Glasgow.

It has also left me with a deeper understanding of how to make change happen in Parliament and in Government, experience that will be critical in the next session at Holyrood.

That’s why I’m asking Scottish Green members in Glasgow to give me your first preference vote, so I can build on my track record of putting Green ideas into practice for people and planet.

Entering government for the first time brought new challenges, and unprecedented opportunities to make a difference:

We achieved the biggest investment in climate and nature Scotland has ever seen. We’ve all known for years that Scotland is behind schedule on reducing emissions, and as one of our first ever Ministers I helped ensure that more ambitious climate action got the resources needed. Without Greens in Government, the SNP have gone back to drift and inaction.

The rent freeze I introduced was unprecedented action to tackle the cost of living. It saved Glasgow tenants thousands of pounds by preventing rent hikes. Without Greens in Government the SNP have ended all temporary protections, and watered down the long term rent control bill we introduced.

I developed the most generous package of funding to help get people off fossil fuel heating, and the most ambitious legislation in the UK to roll out clean heating quicker. Without Greens in Government, that ambition is stalling, and people won’t get the benefit of ending reliance on fossil fuel.

I massively accelerated investment in safer walking and cycling infrastructure. Working within Government and with the rest of our Green MSPs I helped deliver free bus travel for young people and ended peak time rail fares, making public transport the first choice for many more people.

The progress we made in just over two years was huge, and the reversals we’ve seen from the SNP since then should leave us in no doubt that Greens must be determined to make a difference, and that we can do it if we take ourselves seriously. 

It was also a period which has left us with a deeper understanding of how Government works, how change can be achieved, and what the barriers and pitfalls are. Of all opposition parties, we are the only ones with direct recent experience of Government, and what I’ve learned as a Minister continues to be incredibly valuable every week in Parliament.

Being in Government didn’t just bring progress on policy. It also brought more support at the ballot box. It was our most sustained period of high standing in the opinion polls, and it produced our best ever local election results too.

The election in just under a year’s time will bring new opportunities to deliver change. But it will also bring a new threat to Scotland, from the populist far right. With the benefit of billionaires’ cash and almost obsessive media coverage, they pose a serious danger. 

Their presence, and the rightward drift of other parties, will make the next session of Parliament challenging including on issues like climate and equality. A timid SNP offering no ambition or vision isn’t what’s needed. Green voices must challenge this threat.

The Greens won’t only defend immigrants and asylum seekers from the right’s attack. Unlike the centre ground we’ll also make clear that the people who really pose a danger are the ones who arrive by private jet, not by dinghy.

The Greens won’t be neutral in the face of the ‘culture war’ agenda against trans people and others; we’ll be relentless in challenging prejudice and achieving progressive change.

The Greens won’t duck the challenge of getting Scotland back on track in reaching net zero, but nor will we pretend we can rely on techno fixes, or push the responsibility down onto individual action. We’re the only party who will hold the powerful accountable - those who have extracted the profit, caused the pollution, then lay off their workforce as soon as profits dip. 

We’ll always campaign for change, with a radical and authentic voice. But we must never think that’s enough. We need to be in a position to actually make change happen. Our task is too urgent for anything else.

It’s essential that we bring all our experience and credibility into the next session of Parliament. That’s what I’ve built during my time as Green MSP for Glasgow. 

That’s why I’m asking for your 1st preference vote.