'For urgent change that's needed, Green voices must be heard'

Glasgow Times

8 hours ago

There are also home truths for the SNP who put a lot into this seat.
They tried to be the anti-Reform vote but that didn't work.
The immediate reaction of some in the party that they instead need to "hit the independence button" hits home just how little they have to fall back on from their record in government.
Greens led a solid grassroots campaign which helped to build profile and support ahead of the Holyrood elections next year, where the proportional voting system means Green votes count more.
There are some clear lessons emerging for how Greens need to approach that election.
The SNP can't succeed as the anti-Reform vote because they are the political establishment in Scotland that those turning to Reform are hacked off with.
It's their cuts to council budgets and their failure to replace the unfair council tax that is responsible for the decline people see in their neighbourhoods.
It's their failure to build enough homes or to bring down outrageous rents that are driving the housing crisis.
It's their U-turn on climate targets and lack of a proper green industrial strategy that is putting jobs and communities at risk.
Greens can put forward a bold manifesto that responds to these things and more.
That speaks to real issues facing people, not the bogeymen put forward by Reform.
Urgency is vital.
Where the SNP is cautious in the extreme, Greens must present a plan to deliver tangible change, quickly.
Parties are often pressed on having a costed manifesto.
That's important, but I think it's equally so to have a timed plan, not with vague and distant targets, but for real improvement, now.
Greens have policies that resonate and are needed, but the biggest barrier we still face is being heard.
The BBC Scotland Debate Night programme this week is a clear example of that.
The show was a 'Glasgow Special' but it didn't include the Greens, despite being clearly the third political force in the city.
Instead, alongside the SNP council leader Susan Aitken, viewers heard from the Tories, who have just one councillor left and are facing being wiped out in Holyrood next year, and shockingly from not one but two Labour representatives (though the show's producers neglected to make the political affiliation of the unelected Baron Haughey of Hutchesontown clear).
It's perhaps not a surprise that the BBC won't platform Green voices which challenge the status quo, but it is a real shame.
Green representatives are shaping the future of Glasgow, whether that's by working to end rip-off rents, by making our streets and public spaces safer, or by delivering new powers, like the Visitor Levy, which will raise tens of millions more for local services.
Greens can deliver the radical and urgent change people want, but to do that Green voices must be heard.