Use your vote for a better future for all

Tomorrow (Thursday), people across Stirling will be deciding who’ll get their vote in the local elections. There’s a lot at stake.

The climate and nature crises are real. The cost of living crisis is real. And people in Stirling are already feeling the impact of inaction.

But we didn’t arrive at the current situation overnight. It is the result of decades of bad decisions.

Our communities, and our planet, deserve better than that. And in tomorrow’s election, we have the chance to turn the tide.

From my conversations on the doorstep, and our record highs in the polls, we know many people across Scotland agree with our vision for a greener, fairer, and more equal Scotland.

Last year, people across Scotland elected a record number of Scottish Green MSPS to Holyrood and we’re already showing what having more Greens at the heart of Government can do.

We’ve delivered free bus travel for all young people under 22, secured record investment in active travel and rail decarbonisation, and launched big plans to decarbonise our homes and remove poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty.

In the face of the cost of living crisis, we’re accelerating the energy transition by doubling our onshore wind capacity and investing record amounts in marine energy.

And whilst Westminster doubles down on cuts to Universal Credit, with Greens in government we’ve doubled the Scottish Child Payment to help struggling families.

We’ve proven what constructive, collaborative politics can look like.

And we’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s far more to do. And local councils are essential to the greener, fairer future we all believe in.

People need local representatives that are ready to rise to the serious challenges we face – the climate and nature emergencies, the cost of living crisis, and so much more.

And over the past five years, the Scottish Greens in Stirling Council have proven themselves as more than up to that challenge.

We have championed local climate strikers and supported the Council’s declaration of a Climate and Nature Emergency.

We have stopped damaging proposals like the Viewforth Link Road and secured additional funding for improvements to local parks.

We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with local communities fighting for a better future for Stirling, from supporting the campaign against the Park of Keir development to challenging the plans around Airthrey Kerse.

This is what we’ve been able to achieve with just one councillor. But imagine what we could achieve with even more.

Stirling has seen years of neglect in the town centre. I’ve been talking to scores of voters who live in substandard expensive rented accommodation. They need a housing champion in the council to take on the rogue landlords and letting agents, working with myself and our Green Minister Patrick Harvie to cap rents and support new tenants rights.

Now more than ever, we need more Greens in Stirling Council to drive the transformative change communities across Stirling deserve. There’s no time to waste.

It’s a preferential voting system, so every vote counts.

Stirling city centre has seen years of neglect