Why Greens' Maggie Chapman was dethroned from regional list

The Herald Scotland

21-07-2025

As it is unlikely the North East will elect two Greens MSPs, Ms Chapman, who came second in the contest, faces an uncertain political future.
The Zimbabwe-born politician, who served as co-leader of the party between 2013 and 2019, has been a lightning rod for controversy during her time in Holyrood.
She turned heads in October 2023 after tweeting that the Hamas terror attack on Israel was 'a consequence of apartheid, of illegal occupation and of imperial aggression by the [[Israel]] state.'
She also shared a post which likened the attack to an act of 'decolonisation,' rather than 'terrorism'.
Lorna Slater hit out at Ms Chapman over the tweet. (Image: PA) Party brass refused to back her, with co-leader Lorna Slater telling the BBC she had spoken to Ms Chapman about her tweet.
While Ms Chapman apologised for 'any upset' in a subsequent post, the reputational damage was done.
Further controversy followed in the spring of 2025.
Speaking at a rally in Aberdeen, Chapman said the Supreme Court's ruling on the definition of a woman was based in 'bigotry, prejudice and hatred'.
She was blasted by top lawyers and narrowly survived a vote to oust her as Deputy Convenor of Holyrood's Equalities Committee in April - after voting for herself to remain in post.
She said at the time: 'The focus should not be on me, it should be on the outcomes of the ruling and the serious threat that is being posed to the rights of trans and non-binary people.
"I have never questioned the Court's right to make the ruling that it did. But that does not mean that I must agree with it. I don't, and I am very concerned about the impact it will have and is already having.'
Mr Ingerson, an environmental campaigner, will be the party's top North East candidate in 2026.
A popular local figure in the party and former co-convenor of the Greens' LGBTQ wing, Mr Ingerson previously stood for Holyrood in 2021.
Former employee Guy Ingerson has secured the top spot on the list.
The pair are locked in a bullying row, after Mr Ingerson lodged an internal party complaint against Ms Chapman's conduct.
Mr Ingerson has alleged that Ms Chapman contacted his new employer, Friends of the Earth Scotland, to warn he was 'untrustworthy' and should be 'watched'.
MSPs Patrick Harvie and Mark Ruskell are named as witnesses in the documents, according to The National.
Ms Chapman had previously lodged a complaint against Mr Ingerson.
Born in Zimbabwe in 1979, Ms Chapman moved to Scotland to study at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2001.
After completing a masters degree in Environmental Management at the University of Stirling, Ms Chapman was elected as a Scottish Greens councillor for Leith Walk in [[Edinburgh]] in 2007.
She would serve in that role until 2016, after which she was selected as the top candidate for the Greens North East regional list.
Currently the rector of scandal-hit Dundee University, she served in the same position at the University of [[Aberdeen]] between 2014 and 2021.
Her bid for re-election in 2017 was annulled after allegations were raised that her supporters had torn down the campaign posters of other candidates.
A member of her campaign team said at the time: 'The contention that we had removed hundreds of campaign posters is obviously spurious, and their claim that it took until 4pm on the 11th day of campaigning - one hour before voting closed - for them to realise this is obviously absurd.
"It suggests that it is much more likely that their intention was to find a pretext to get the winning candidate disqualified or to have the election annulled."
She won a redo of the election in early 2018.
Mr Ingerson recently described his contest with Ms Chapman as a 'battle for the soul' of the progressive, pro-independence party.
Read more:
Faculty of Advocates: 'Surprising and regrettable' Maggie Chapman is still in post
Green MSP Maggie Chapman deletes controversial Gaza tweet after backlash
Inside the 'battle' to shake up the 'middle-class' Scottish Greens
The former oil and gas worker, who came sixth in the [[Aberdeen]] South constituency at the 2024 general election, told The Herald:
'We're often seen as a pseudo-intellectual middle-class party, and to be fair, we've been led by those types of people for some time — and to great success. But now we need change.
'The North East has seen cuts to services and workers feel they aren't being listened to,' he added.
'We need someone on the top of the list who is from Mastrick (a working class neighborhood in Aberdeen) and has really good insight into the community.'
In 2021, the Scottish Greens stood in eleven constituencies, failing to win a seat. However, seven Green MSPs were elected using the list system, including party leaders Harvie and Slater.