Elections deliver a bright Green future for Scotland - Lorna Slater
Last week’s Scottish Parliament election delivered a clear message. People across Scotland are looking for hopeful, ambitious politics that meets the scale of the challenges we face.
For the Scottish Greens, the result was historic. We returned a record number of Green MSPs to Holyrood, including our first ever constituency victories. Across the country, more people voted Green than at any point in our history.
That matters because every Green MSP elected means a stronger voice for climate action, social justice and a fairer Scotland.
I am deeply honoured to have been elected as the MSP for Edinburgh Central, becoming the first Scottish Green to win the (or any) constituency. To secure that victory in the heart of our capital city, my home of more than twenty years, was incredibly special. It was not just special for me personally, but for everyone who has spent years building our movement from the ground up.
This was never simply about one candidate or one campaign. It was about hundreds of thousands of people who want politics to be more ambitious, more compassionate and more willing to stand up to the forces dragging our society backwards.
Throughout the campaign I spoke to people worried about the cost of living, frustrated by creaking public services and fearful about the climate emergency. I also met people determined to reject the politics of division and hatred that is growing elsewhere in the UK. Those conversations shaped this result.
In Edinburgh Central, voters chose a positive vision for the future. They backed better public transport, warmer homes, affordable housing and action to make our communities greener and healthier. They backed a politics that believes tackling inequality and tackling the climate crisis must go hand in hand.
The new parliament will not be without challenges. Scotland faces economic uncertainty, rising pressure on public services and the continued threat of far right politics trying to divide our communities. But this election has also created opportunities.
With a strengthened Green group at Holyrood, we can push harder for the changes Scotland needs.
We want faster climate action, expanded free public transport, stronger tenants’ rights, investment to make childcare truly free and affordable and bold action to reduce poverty. We will continue making the case for a fairer economy and for Scotland to have the powers of independence to shape its own future.
This parliament can achieve great things. The Scottish Greens will work every day to ensure that it does.