Green voters ‘must challenge candidates’

Green supporters who can’t vote for their party at the general election should challenge other candidates on issues that are important to them, Patrick Harvie has said.

Launching the Scottish Greens election manifesto in Glasgow yesterday, Mr Harvie said he was sorry for those who will not have the chance to cast their ballot for the party on 8 June.

Just three of Scotland’s 59 constituencies will feature Green candidates.

Mr Harvie, who is bidding to become the first Scottish Green to be returned to Westminster by winning Glasgow North, said there was a need for parties who oppose Conservative policies to work together.

He confirmed he would stand down as an MSP if he was elected as an MP.

“I apologise to the many Green voters around the country who don’t have the chance to vote Green and I know that 0 Patrick Harvie and fellow candidate Lorna Slater many of them having been coming to help in constituencies we are contesting, like Edinburgh North and Leith,” he said.

The Scottish Greens manifesto includes pledges to protect Scotland’s place within the European Union, the right of Scots to decide the country’s future at a second referendum, and a promise to protect workers’ rights from a hard Brexit.

Opposition parties have accused the Greens of being “cheerleaders for independence” by only standing three candidates.