Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Greens ‘to put thousands of rural workers on the dole’
The Scottish election on 6 May could prove disastrous for fieldsports if the Green Party forms an alliance with Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP
Gamekeepers have warned that an alliance between the SNP and the Scottish Greens after the 6 May election could put “thousands of rural workers on the dole, with little prospect of redeployment, and affect the well-being and future… of their dependents”.
The stark claim came in an open letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon from Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg. Mr Hogg drew Ms Sturgeon’s attention to a list of policies that he said would “effectively end all game management and angling in Scotland and destroy a significant part of Scotland’s cultural heritage”.
Among the policies highlighted was a “commitment to end what the Greens term ‘bloodsports’” and “a full ban on fox control with dogs”.
The SNP currently has 61 of the Scottish parliament’s
129 seats. Seventy-three of the parliament’s seats are elected on a constituency basis — with a single MSP for each constituency — and 56 seats are elected from regional lists. The seven MSPS for each region are elected with an ‘additional member system’. Crucially, the Greens were able to win six regional list seats in 2016.
“Where does the fairness lie for those set to lose their jobs?”
The Greens’ support for the government has allowed it to push forward a number of antishooting initiatives, including a temporary ban on muirburn and a ban on mountain hare culling.
While the SNP is viewed as likely to be the largest single party in the next parliament, polling suggests it will not have an absolute majority.
The outcome for the
Scottish Greens is unclear. Andy Wightman, one of their most high-profile MSPS, left the party earlier this year and will stand as an independent. Alex Salmond’s new Alba Party may also take a share of the pro-independence second votes, which have traditionally gone to the Greens.
Concluding his letter, Mr Hogg wrote: “The Greens’ election literature states that they are looking for a fairer and greener Scotland. I question where the fairness lies for the thousands set to lose their jobs and homes, or how ‘just’ their transition will be.”
A Scottish Greens spokesman said: “With one in nine species in Scotland under threat, we are in a nature emergency. Scottish Greens are clear that licensing of grouse moors will be properly resourced and enforced, and that those who commit wildlife crimes are brought to justice.”
Matt Cross
14% Cumbria