Holyrood 2026

I’m delighted to have been re-selected by Scottish Green members in Glasgow as their lead candidate for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

Representing our party, our city and Green politics in the Scottish Parliament has been a privilege, and I’m immensely grateful both to our members and to the Green voters of Glasgow for the trust they’ve shown in asking me to serve as their MSP since my first election in 2003.

I hope we can earn that trust again in next year’s election.

Actually that’s a bit of an understatement!

The current term of Parliament has been the most successful in our party’s history, and we are well placed to make a bigger impact than ever next year - if we work hard and continue the journey our party has been on.

2021 was our best ever Holyrood election, and since then we’ve

• entered Government for the first time, after the most inclusive democratic process our party has ever undertaken to design and approve the Bute House Agreement

• turned more Green policy into practice than ever before, from renewable energy to the rent freeze, and from nature restoration to cheaper public transport

• had by far our best ever local election in 2022 followed by more unprecedented results including our first ever local by-election win

• and seen our best ever opinion poll numbers - a sustained period of strong polling while we were still in Government, but most recently our best ever poll just a few weeks ago.

This is what happens when we stay focused on making a difference for people by putting Green ideas into practice.

Back in the early days, and for a very long time, the Greens were convinced we were right but we had to live with the frustration of never being able to do anything about it. We did all we could to be the best advocates of Green ideas, but we never got the chance to show that we would make them work.

That’s what we’ve managed to change in recent years. And just as well, because our task is too urgent for anything else. 

Whether it’s getting Scotland back on track in tackling the climate and nature emergency, cutting the cost of living and getting people out of poverty, or protecting our democracy from the rising threat of the far right, the challenges we all face together need more than words. 

They need a Green response that’s actually being delivered in the real world. That means a Scottish Green Party that’s making change happen, not just talking about it.

If we want to build on the success of recent years we need to be united, to show discipline, and to continue our development into an effective and professional political party. There’s still much more we need to do, if we’re to become the Green political force this country needs. 

The co-leadership election later this summer offers a great opportunity to showcase talent and to set out a clear, compelling vision of what Green politics can offer Scotland, not just next year but into the 2030s and beyond.

Green parties around the world offer the most coherent challenge to the political status quo. It’s a challenge to the dominant, capitalist, growth-dependent economic model which is exploiting both people and planet. It’s a challenge also to the shallow, dishonest grifters of the new far right who offer nothing but division and chaos.

Scotland needs a strong and successful Scottish Green Party, and I’m looking forward to playing my part once more as we begin the campaign for next year’s election.