Greens hopeful of election ‘breakthrough’ to challenge Westminster ‘power grab’

Delivering Scottish Green MPs in the General Election would be an “amazing breakthrough” for the party, co-leader Patrick Harvie said as he targets Westminster’s “abuse of power”.

The Scottish Greens have said they will field a record number of candidates on July 4, with Mr Harvie accusing opponents of failing to offer change to voters.

Speaking in Edinburgh on Thursday, he condemned the “planning and executing the abuse of UK Government power” through its use of a Section 35 order which blocked devolved gender reforms from becoming law.

While the Scottish Greens have never delivered an elected representative to the UK Parliament, Mr Harvie made it clear the party is targeting success this year.

Following the political fallout from the abrupt end of the Bute House Agreement – the powersharing deal between the Greens and SNP at Holyrood – Mr Harvie also accused the Scottish Government of attempting to play on both sides of the climate debate.

He told the PA news agency: “A Scottish Green MP at Westminster would be obviously an amazing breakthrough for our party, but it would also be a clear voice for change.”

He said his party would highlight “environmental destruction” and global injustices like in Gaza.

“That’s the kind of voice that I think Scotland’s political landscape needs at Westminster,” he said.

“It’s not coming from any of the other political parties as we see Tories doubling down on their support for the fossil fuel industry, Labour ripping up their green investment pledge, and the SNP now back to trying to face both ways on climate and the oil and gas industry.”

Asked if he expects to see SNP voters turn to the Greens following the break-up of the Bute House Agreement, Mr Harvie said: “My worry at the moment is that we will now see the SNP watering down on pledges like the climate agenda on the Heat and Buildings Bill – they’ve already started to unravel parts of it.”

He said any watering down of policies will be a “signal and reminder to every SNP voter” that only the Scottish Greens will advocate for climate and social change.

Speaking outside the UK Government headquarters in Edinburgh, he also said that while Labour offers a change of government, Sir Keir Starmer will not deliver political change.

Mr Harvie accused Rishi Sunak of “overruling Scotland”, and said: “I think we’re going to see the same kind of approach from a Labour government abusing the power of the UK, undermining devolution.

“I think it’s a really serious worry that we’re going to see a change of name plate, a change of party rosette, a change of government – but not a change of politics.”

Earlier, Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater said the Conservative Government had “made a cynical powergrab and abused their position to overrule Scotland and undermine our (Scottish) Parliament”.