A happier, healthier future for people and planet

As a Scottish Government minister Lorna Slater had the joy of releasing beavers into the Cairngorms National Park, the first new beavers there in over 400 years.

Getting out into Edinburgh’s cold crisp air has been good for both my physical and mental health and has given me the chance to reflect on what has been a year of ups and downs in Scottish politics.

Back in January 2024, I wrote in this very column about Scotland’s declining nature and the need to apply the same principles involved with repopulating beavers to our ailing towns, cities and the wider planet.

When I wrote it I was a Scottish Government minister and had just had the joy of releasing beavers into the Cairngorms National Park, the first new beavers there in over 400 years.

But by the end of the spring, my time as a minister was coming to an end. The historic co-operation agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens that saw Greens enter government for the first time anywhere in the UK came to an end.

I would have preferred to keep a progressive pro-independence government in place, but in politics, things can change in the blink of an eye, and you must adapt and respond accordingly to the hand you are dealt.

I am more interested in what we're going to do for Scotland next. Since the agreement ended, a lot of my focus has been on local matters.

My team and I have been working with residents of Linlithgow to clean up the loch, and have succeeded in getting Historic Environment Scotland, SEPA, Scottish Water and the local council to reconvene the Loch Management Group.

This month I brought together more than 150 residents, officials and stakeholders at a public meeting on the future of Holyrood Park, and brought a debate on the park to the parliament chamber.

In the months ahead we will be looking at the Scottish Government’s promised climate strategy and its housing bill which is supposed to bring in rent controls and improved conditions for tenants. In both cases I am concerned that without Scottish Greens in government, policies will be watered down and action delayed.

The principles we held in government are the same ones we hold today. Whether it is our commitment to affordable rents, cheaper and more accessible public transport or accelerated nature restoration, 2025 promises to be an important year for our country and for our climate, with crucial work that we got underway finally having its day in parliament. I hope that the year ahead is one where Scotland can build on the progress we have made and chart a happier, healthier future for people and planet.

Lorna Slater is ​Scottish Greens co-leader