Weekly roundup

Patrick Harvie
June 06, 2025

🧑‍⚕️

Having just joined the Health Committee while Gillian Mackay is on maternity leave, my first public event on the topic was a debate about health inequalities, at Glasgow University. Four MSPs and one MP were on the panel, but I think all of us were aware that the audience of researchers, health professionals and community workers were bringing far more expertise into the room than we were.

Overwhelmingly, the mood in the room was impatient with the idea that health inequality is seen as something that health policy on its own can fix. Health, and healthy life expectancy, aren’t fairly shared in our society. But this is an economic issue - it’s about incomes, housing, working conditions, social security, education, and more. Everyone knows our health services are under incredible pressure, but the things politicians most often score points about - mostly the detail of how services are managed - do matter but they aren’t the cause of that pressure, and they won’t help find the solutions.

The things that determine our health, and the pressure on our healthcare system, are about the social and economic circumstances in which we live our lives. In short, unless we’re willing to redistribute wealth, we won’t be able to redistribute health.

🌏️

The Scottish Parliament should already be getting into the next chapter of climate policy - Ministers were due to publish their proposed ‘carbon budgets’, which will set the new course toward the 2045 net zero target.

But for some reason - they haven’t said why - this has been delayed. It’s a worry, because this is supposed to kick start a process that leads to the new Climate Change Plan - the document that says what they’re actually going to do about it! Any delay now could have a knock-on effect and delay the action that’s already overdue.

This week MSPs heard a presentation from the UK Committee on Climate Change, the independent expert advisers to both Scottish and UK Governments, about what they think the new carbon budgets should be.

One of the clearest messages is that the watering down of the Heat in Buildings Bill leaves a big problem. If Ministers aren’t willing to go ahead with the version I had developed, and which was widely praised at the time, then they need to come up with an alternative, and fast. Passing a bill that says they want Scotland to switch to clean heating, but without saying how it will happen, would be worse than useless.

🐝

Since 2013, Scottish Environment LINK have been running the Nature Champions scheme. It matches up MSPs with individual species to help raise awareness of the threats they face, and the actions we can take.

When it was first launched, I was made the champion for the minke whale. Which was nice, but I had to point out that they’re thin on the ground in Glasgow, and I might be better off speaking up for a species I’d have a chance of spotting.

Since then I’ve been paired up with the red mason bee, and I’ve had the pleasure of going on some great visits to see the work being done to protect our pollinators.

People like to think of Scotland as a country with wonderful natural places, but the truth is that we are one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and 1 in 9 species is at risk of extinction.

There’s a lot we can all do to help, and for red mason bees and other pollinators, here are a few ideas.

🗳️

Of course the week ended with the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by election. Not an event anyone had welcomed; it only happened because of the death of Christina McKelvie, someone who was very much loved and respected beyond party lines.

A constituency by-election for the Scottish Parliament works on first-past-the-post, so it’s just as difficult for smaller parties as a Westminster election. But I’m really grateful to everyone who took part in the Green campaign. They’ve helped lay the groundwork for next year’s election for the whole Parliament, at which we have the chance of returning more MSPs than ever before, if we work at it.

I’ll offer more thoughts about the result later this weekend, including what it means for the Greens, and the rest of the political landscape. For now, congratulations to Davy Russell on his election, and thanks again to our Green campaigners.