Greens lay out ambitious vision for the future in manifesto
THE Scottish Greens published the party’s manifesto ahead of next month’s Holyrood election.
Co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater presented the ambitious plan at Glasgow’s SWG3 yesterday in a virtual launch.
Here are five key pledges: An independence referendum The Greens say IndyRef2 should take place during the next parliamentary term – which means before 2026. The party believes UK Government opposition to a referendum taking place is “politically sustainable and could be subject to legal challenge”.
Millionaires tax
The richest 10 per cent of Scots should pay a “millionaires’ tax” on all assets including property and pensions, the Greens believe.
Under the Green plan, an annual one per cent tax would be imposed on assets above a £1million threshold – including property and pensions.
More teachers
A vow to recruit an extra 5500 teachers for Scotland’s schools. Also on education, the party vows
to scrap the standardised assessments carried out from P1 to S3, and increase the school age to seven, with play-based learning from the age of three onwards.
More wind farms and a ban on new petrol cars
Greens want to double the size of Scotland’s onshore wind sector by installing 200 turbines every year for a decade. They want to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2026.
Free public transport for everyone under 26
The party want to make public transport the preferred choice over private cars for as many people as possible. The Greens want bus and rail travel to be free for everyone under the age of 26.