Why the Greens having a voice within government is a good thing for us all

The Scottish Parliament’s summer recess is over. MSPs have zipped up their cagoules – the ones in green with a bit more purpose perhaps – and made their way to the nation’s capital once again.

Each new parliamentary year is usually stamped with a set piece Programme for Government statement from the first minister.

It’s a big event where she unveils the next dozen or so pieces of legislation she intends to present to parliament for MSPs to deliberate and vote upon.

This year feels different though.

In part it’s because of the pandemic of course.

Cases are still soaring and although deaths and hospitalisations are, at least, in percentage terms far smaller than they used to be, Covid-19 is still dominating the discourse.

Is every job salvageable? And if not, how do you decide whose livelihoods are viable?

Aside from jobs and businesses, what has the pandemic done to an already stretched National Health Service?

Some health board areas are reportedly back in the realm of cancelling elective procedures. The flu season is ahead. We have an exhausted workforce.

So what does the NHS need? Money, reform or both?

And what other long-term trends emanating from the pandemic might the government have to respond to?

If people continue to work from home and shop online, do we need to accept that the High Street is dead or can it be brought back to life with government support?

No shortage of issues in the inbox of the government then.

Yet this year’s programme for government feels different for another reason.

It comes days after the Scottish National Party government entered into a cooperation with the Scottish Green Party.

We’re told it’s very definitely not a coalition.

They will vote together where they agree and apart where they do not.

The Greens will have ministers in government and special advisers to support them.

In turn they will forego a significant chunk of their opposition speaking rights in the parliamentary chamber.

The word co-operation agreement carries slightly sinister undertones for me. Maybe I’ve been watching too many police dramas. When a character is co-operating with inquiries it’s never a relationship of equals.

It strikes me as fundamentally good politics though.

For starters, what is standing for parliament for if it’s not to realise your beliefs, policies and principles?

You can do so much of that when you have power and access to the levers of change.

It also means more Scots are represented in power by parties they voted for.

The combined vote share of the Greens and the SNP in May’s election represents 49% of Scots. Together they received more than 2.6 million votes across both ballots.

And it’s good because it takes us away from the Punch and Judy politics that usually monopolises the budget process.

Taking the budget out of the equation works for everyone.

It enhances the Greens’ influence on government all year round and, at least in theory, it removes the theatrics from the budget.

But what does that Green influence look like in practice? We know their ministers will be largely focused on housing and green jobs, so let’s take each in turn.

For the Greens, whose vote historically comes in great swathes from Glasgow and Edinburgh, it means reforming rental rights, which are already considered among the best in the world.

The Greens want rent controls. This is a mechanism designed to rein in the private rented sector which is driving up poverty levels in our cities.

Do the Greens believe in building huge numbers of more houses or does that sit ill at ease with what they believe needs to be done to achieve our climate change targets?

On energy, the Greens understand that our reliance on oil and gas must end, but do they fully understand the lives of those reliant on the industry?

Much has been made of the need for a just transition, but there will be many people in the north-east wondering what job they’ll be doing in 10 years’ time.

Ministerial office is a wish come true for the Greens but it also demands that they transition from being a party of campaigns, demands and protest to one of power.

And it’s a world where delivery may mean consensus building and compromising on their principles.

This year’s programme for government feels very different

WORKING TOGETHER: The co-operation agreement with the SNP and Scottish Greens should help more Scots to feel represented.