Smacking and fracking prove our influence, boast Greens
●Leader will tell conference Scotland is embracing his party’s left-wing agenda
Patrick Harvie will today claim bans on smacking and fracking and the imposition of 20mph speed limits demonstrate that the Greens are persuading Scotland to embrace its radical left- wing agenda. In his address to the Scottish Green conference, Mr Harvie will say his party is “leading the change”, even though it only has six members of the Scottish Parliament. But with Nicola Sturgeon’s minority government relying on the support of the proindependence Green MSPS to get legislation through Holyrood, the party’s co-convener will pledge to keep challenging the “middle ground agenda”.
But ahead of his speech to delegates at Napier University, Edinburgh, the Scottish Conservatives criticised the influence held by the Greens over
the SNP. The Tories claimed recent Scottish Government policy announcements showed that “the Green tail was wagging the SNP dog”.
The close relationship between the SNP and the Greens has been the subject of criticism, particularly since this year’s general election, when Mr Harvie’s party only fought three Westminster seats.
The lack of Green candidates led to suggestions that the party was stepping aside so they would not harm the SNP by splitting the Scottish independence vote. The claim was denied by the Greens.
Earlier this month, the Scottish Government delighted Green activists by announcing a fracking ban which will see the controversial energy extraction technique outlawed permanently, while this week saw the First Minister pledge to “ensure” that a smacking ban outlined in a member’s bill proposed by Green MSP John Finnie becomes law.
The Greens’ close relationship with the SNP also came under scrutiny this month when the Scottish Government announced plans to cut Air Departure Tax would be delayed until after Brexit.
The SNP’S long-standing policy is opposed by the Greens, who argue that encouraging more people to fly will harm the environment.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said the delay to Scottish Government plans to cut the levy after Air Passenger Duty (APD) has been replaced with a devolved Air Departure Tax was caused by the need for an exemption for passengers who use Highlands and Islands airports to have EU approval.
The SNP’S opponents, however, claimed the delay was an attempt to “pal up” with Mr Harvie’s party ahead of December’s Scottish budget which is likely to depend on Green support to be passed.
Ms Sturgeon yesterday vowed to press ahead with plans to explore the introduction of a Citizens’ Income, another of the Green Party’s key policies.
She made the commitment despite acknowledging that the expensive plan might not be feasible.
Today Mr Harvie will claim that other Scottish politicians are playing “catch-up” with his party when he lists a number of Green policies adopted by the SNP.
In addition to the smacking and fracking bans, he will mention the 20mph speed limit proposal which has been backed by SNP local politicians in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as Ms Sturgeon’s plans for a publicly-owned not-for-profit energy company.
He will also refer to the reversal of £160 million council funding cuts, which the Greens extracted from the Scottish Government when it cut a deal with the SNP in the February budget.
Last night Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells said: “With the recent nonsensical decisions on APD and fracking, it’s no wonder many people believe that their informal alliance is a case of the tail wagging the dog.”
o-convener of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, will have an added spring in his step as prepares to his address his party’s autumn conference in Edinburgh today.
And why not? Things have never been better for his party, who are punching above their weight at Holyrood with a raft of proposals from bans on smacking and fracking to the imposition of the 20mph speed limit coming to fruition.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also pushing on with plans to explore a Citizens’ Basic Income, another Green policy, despite evidence it will cost billions.
All this with only six pro-independence supporting MSPS. No wonder Mr Harvie is claiming “Everything’s Gone Green”.
This is perhaps how coalition politics is supposed to work. Smaller parties can extract concessions and increased influence as a result of favourable electoral maths. At Westminster, the DUP is certainly deriving maximum benefit by propping up a hirpling Tory party under Prime Minister Theresa May.
However, while coalitions can prove short-term successes, history tells us that the long-term effects are more mixed.
The Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg have yet to be forgiven by voters for their coalition with David Cameron, which seemed all too chummy from the very start. And the chumminess at Holyrood is also upsetting many.
For some, the Greens have long been regarded as a party of principle, a place where floating voters who want to push the environmental agenda can safely lay their vote.
But the perception is growing that the Greens are prepared to lie down to the SNP when it suits.
The decision to fight only three Westminster seats out of 59 at the last UK general election led to strong criticism and accusations that the party was stepping aside so as not to harm the SNP by splitting the Scottish Yes vote.
This decision denied many genuine Green voters the opportunity to cast their vote up and down Scotland. The reason given – that the party could not afford to field more candidates – was laughable.
Some may point to the recent policy successes and conclude: Good decision; smart politics. But if Mr Harvie’s party becomes shorthand for “SNP lapdogs” rather than “principled upholders of a strong environmental agenda” he may find that his new-found influence is merely a short-term blip.