Greens vow to pressure SNP into punishing new tax hikes

PATRICK Harvie yesterday threatened to put pressure on the SNP to punish workers with crippling tax rises as the price for his support in Holyrood.

The radical Left-wing Green leader, who caused political turmoil when the Nationalists were last in minority government, said his new team of MSPs would seek to ‘push the SNP beyond their comfort zone’.

As a pro-independence group of six, the Greens will be the most likely allies for Nicola Sturgeon as she comes to terms with leading her first minority administration.

The Nationalists fell two MSPs short of the 65 required for a majority, so the Green contingent could be crucial in crunch votes.

Mr Harvie had hoped to return one MSP from each of the country’s eight regions, but voters rejected the party in the South, Central Scotland and the North-East, which meant co-leader Maggie Chapman missed out.

In the West of Scotland region, 21-year-old Ross Greer, an outspoken former Yes Scotland campaigner, became the youngest ever MSP,

‘Push them beyond their comfort zone’

while land reform campaigner Andy Wightman joined Alison Johnstone as the Lothian region sent two representatives to Holyrood.

Speaking in Edinburgh yesterday, Mr Harvie said: ‘We’ve had a fantastic campaign. We have achieved really important steps forward.

‘We are now Holyrood’s fourth party, we are now a group of six rather than a group of two. We’ve got a degree of geographic spread.

‘But we have missed out, sometimes by a whisker, on some cracking candidates who would have been cracking good MSPs as well. We haven’t managed to achieve our goal of an MSP for every region.’

He added: ‘An SNP minority government is going to be needing to work together with others.

‘There’s going to be an opportunity for parliament to hold government to account in a way that hasn’t always happened in a single-party authority.’

Mr Harvie refused to be drawn on what precisely he will ask Miss Sturgeon for in exchange for his support.

He said: ‘We’re not here to pin down a list of 16 specifics. You know what our key themes have been.

‘For example, how we progress taxation – that is going to be something the Scottish Government will need to think about.

‘They are going to require support to get a budget through in the coming financial year. There are real opportunities for the Greens to push the Scottish Government beyond their comfort zone.

‘I think many members of the SNP would like to see them go further.’

In its manifesto, the party set out Left-wing promises to voters, which included higher tax rates for the highest paid, a property tax that would massively increase some householders’ council tax bills and a US-style local sales tax.

Those earning less than £26,500 would be better off but those earning more would pay more tax.

Iain McMillan, former director of the CBI and lead author of tax proposals commissioned by the Tories for this election, warned: ‘The prospect of trying to do a deal could mean the Greens demand higher taxes than the SNP was planning.

‘I would hope the SNP would resist that most strongly because Scotland is a small country on the periphery of Europe, not close to the big markets, so we need to be competitive.

‘I would urge Miss Sturgeon most strongly not to do a deal with the Greens if it means higher taxes for Scotland.

‘That could really damage Scotland’s reputation for having a competitive economy.’

The Greens officially back independence but there was no explicit support for a second referendum in the party’s manifesto. At the launch, however, Miss Chapman suggested that as few as 100,000 signatures on a formal petition could be enough to trigger a second vote on independence. The party later changed the figure to one million.

Mr Harvie said: ‘I don’t think anyone can say when another referendum will be called. I don’t doubt one will be called and I look forward to campaigning for a Yes vote when that happens.

‘If we are successful in the council elections, the sky is the limit for the next Holyrood election.’

The Greens want to scrap jail terms of less than 12 months, which could lead to more than 5,000 offenders being spared prison every year. The Scottish Government is already considering the move as part of proposed sentencing reforms.

The party also wants to scrap funding for new roads.

Paul Brewer, government and public sector partner for PwC in Scotland, said: ‘Much of the focus for the SNP Government’s infrastructure spending has been – and continues to be – in road projects like the A9, the M8 and the Aberdeen bypass.

‘On the face of it, that is not wholly incompatible with the Green party’s commitment to creating an economic strategy with a sustainable industrial core, providing good quality jobs in the real economy.

‘Government-backed infrastructure spending has kept Scotland out of recession for the last two quarters, so it is clearly a key area for the new government.’

A ban on fracking – which would go further than the SNP’s present moratorium – is another Green policy. But Richard Longden, spokesman for petrochemical giant Ineos, said: ‘Shale gas offers Scotland a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure jobs and investment across the nation.

‘At our Grangemouth plant, the decline in indigenous gas from the North Sea means we are having to import shale gas from America.

‘As North Sea reserves decline, Scottish shale gas offers us the real prospect of helping with the nation’s economic and energy needs for years. Shale gas can be extracted safely and we believe shale gas can become another Scottish success story like the North Sea.’

In their manifesto, the Greens also proposed a levy on supermarkets if they promote ‘poor-quality food’, a move that was dubbed a ‘pie tax’.

Landowners were warned they could be forced to sell to tenant farmers, while local authorities could seize vacant land.

Other policies included abolishing sanctions for a ‘significant number’ of benefit claimants who fail to do enough to find work, and decriminalising cannabis and prostitution.

There was no mention in the document of the party’s support for a ‘citizen’s income’ of around £15,000 for every adult – regardless of what they do. The party still backs the idea but it cannot be achieved with Holyrood’s existing powers.

‘Real opportunities for the Greens’