Origins in the Ecology Party (1978–1999) The Scottish Green Party originated as the Scottish branch of the
Ecology Party, founded in 1978 by
Leslie Spoor. The Ecology Party became the
UK Green Party and it remained a constituent party until 1990, when the Scottish Green Party became a separate entity. The
1990 Highland Regional Council election gave the Greens their first ever councillor in the UK. Roger (aka Rory) Winter, representing the Highland Green Party (Known in
Scottish Gaelic as
Uainich na Gàidhealtachd), was elected in
Nairn. However, Cllr Winter broke away from the Greens in 1991 and continued his four-year term as an Independent Green Highlander.
First electoral successes (1999–2013) Successful Scottish elections In the first election to this Parliament, in 1999, the Scottish Green Party got one
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) elected by proportional representation,
Robin Harper, the UK's first elected Green parliamentarian. In the
2003 Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish Greens added six new MSPs to their previous total. The result was a surprise for the party. Afterwards, Harper stood for election for
First Minister, securing six votes. Despite the breakthrough in Holyrood, the party failed to elect any candidates in the
2004 European Parliament election,
2005 Westminster elections. In the
2007 Scottish Parliament election, the party lost five seats in
Holyrood, leaving the party with just two MSPs. The result was disappointing as polls initially suggested the party would remain with seven MSPs. However, in the council elections, taking place under the new
Single Transferable Vote voting system, they gained three Councillors on the
City of Edinburgh Council and five Councillors on
Glasgow City Council. Co-convenor Robin Harper blamed the loss on spoiled ballot papers and the campaign focusing on larger parties.
Supporters of the first SNP government Despite the loss of MSPs, the party gained influence with the new
SNP government. On 11 May, the Greens signed an agreement with the
Scottish National Party (SNP), which meant that the Greens voted for Alex Salmond as First Minister and supported his initial Ministerial appointments. In return, the SNP backed a
climate change bill as an early measure and promised to legislate against ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth. The SNP also agreed to nominate
Patrick Harvie, one of the Green MSPs, to convene the Scottish Parliament Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change. Differences, primarily over transport policy, were cited for the limited nature of the agreement. Robin Harper and Johnstone did not seek re-election in 2008 as co-convenor. While Harvie was the sole nominee for the male co-convenor, there was 3 candidates for female co-convenor: former MSP
Eleanor Scott, Glasgow councillor Nina Baker and Edinburgh councillor
Maggie Chapman. The role of female co-convenor was won by Scott. During the 2009 Scottish budget process, the Scottish Greens demanded an £1 billion home insulation programme over 10 years. The SNP Scottish Government offered £22 million for a 'pilot' project. The party decided this compromise was not acceptable. On 28 January 2009, the two Green MSPs were instrumental in the defeat of the Government's budget. The move surprised some commentators, whose leadership had until this point been marked with increased cooperation with the SNP government. A slightly amended version of the budget was passed easily the following week with the support of other parties.
2011 Scottish parliament election At the party's 2010 conference,
Robin Harper announced that he would not seek re-election in the
2011 Scottish Parliament election. The party's election campaign was launched with a focus on investment into public services paid for by tax raises. In the end, the party only elected 2 MSPs in the 2011. Despite not moving forward, the party was the only 'minor' Scottish party which achieved representation in the
Scottish Parliament after 2011 when the
Scottish Socialist Party,
Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party and others lost seats.
Independence referendum and rapid growth (2014–2019) , co-convenors of the party between 2014 and 2018.
2014 Independence referendum campaigning for independence, 2014|227x227pxIn November 2013,
Edinburgh councillor
Maggie Chapman succeeded
Glasgow councillor Martha Wardrop as the party's female co-convenor after she did not seek re-election, while
Patrick Harvie was re-elected. During the
2014 Scottish independence referendum, the party participated in the cross-party
Yes Scotland campaign in favour of
Scottish independence. Co-convenor Patrick Harvie sat on the campaign's advisory board. Briefly, the party withdrew from Yes Scotland. However, the party's 2012 conference overturned the decision. The party also joined the
Radical Independence Campaign. The party's own campaign of 'Green Yes' launched in October 2013, and advocated that only independence could deliver radical change, with Harvie also arguing that the party's vision of independence was progressive, and explicitly not nationalistic. He also argued that devolution did not go far enough to tackle issues important to Scots like austerity. However, some in the party were opposed to independence, including former convenor
Robin Harper who said that he would "absolutely vote No". After the independence referendum, the Scottish Greens experienced a massive surge in membership, including future co-leader
Lorna Slater. The party claimed that, for a period in the day after the referendum, it gained a member every 15 seconds. The party's then co-convenors, Harvie and Chapman were chosen by the party to serve as its representatives on the post-referendum
Smith Commission. The party argued that full powers on income tax, the bulk of welfare policy, energy, transport, employment law and human rights law should be transferred to Holyrood.
2016 Scottish Parliament election and Brexit In 2015,
Maggie Chapman was challenged as co-convenor by activist Zara Kitson in the party's internal elections. The election was notable as it was the first time an incumbent co-convenor faced a serious challenge, all to date had been re-elected as the sole nominees. Chapman was re-elected. (top middle) In the leadup to the
2016 Scottish Parliament election, the party campaigned with a focus on tax-rises for the rich, with co-convenor
Patrick Harvie saying it would be "agenda item one" in any post-election talks with the SNP. The party's selection process of co-convenor Maggie Chapman as lead candidate in the
North East Scotland region for the 2016 election attracted controversy. In the
2016 Scottish Parliament election, the party won 6 more seats, its best result since 2003. The result pushed the party ahead of the
Scottish Liberal Democrats in seat numbers, making it the fourth-largest party for the first time. The Scottish Greens also elected the youngest MSP ever,
Ross Greer at the age of 21. in 2014 In the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the party called for a '
Remain' vote. Subsequently, the party began more strongly advocating for a
second Scottish independence referendum. In February 2015, the party announced that it would field candidates in 32 seats for the
2015 United Kingdom general election with 40% of their candidates being women. In 2017 the party generated some controversy by standing only 3 candidates at the
general election. In the 2019
general election they contested significantly more seats in 22 constituencies. They failed to win any seats and lost their deposit in every contest. The
2017 Scottish local elections saw 'real progress' with the party returning 14 councillors across Scotland, with 8 in the
City of Edinburgh Council.
Inaugural co-leaders and first Green ministers (2019–present) The Scottish Greens contested the
2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, with co-convenor
Maggie Chapman as lead candidate and rising stars
Lorna Slater and
Gillian Mackay also on the list. The party failed to elect any MEPs despite other Green parties having significant success across Europe. In August 2019, a newly adopted constitution by the party led to the
2019 Scottish Green Party co-leadership election, where Patrick Harvie and
Lorna Slater were elected as co-leaders with 43.1% and 30.2% respectively.
Alison Johnstone was one of the eight MSPs elected for the Scottish Greens in the election, however on 13 May 2021 she gave up her party affiliation in order to become
Holyrood's Presiding Officer as the position is a politically neutral role. announcing the SNP-Green
power-sharing deal. After two months of negotiations, on 20 August 2021, the Scottish Greens announced a new
power-sharing agreement with the
SNP Scottish Government. While not an
official coalition, for the first time in Scottish and UK history it offered the Greens two ministerial posts. The agreement saw both parties pledge for a second referendum on
Scottish independence, an increase investment in active travel and public transport, enhancing tenants rights, a ten-year £500m
Just Transition and establishing a National Care Service. The agreement was approved by 83% of Scottish Green members, and secured a two-thirds majority vote of the party's National Council. This was required under the party's constitution for the agreement to be ratified. Academic Professor
Nicola McEwen suggested that the agreement "sometimes pushes [the SNP] further" particularly on climate, social and fair work policy. She also argues that the two parties had already converged on many issues over the preceding decade. However, critics and supporters of the party agreed that the agreement had allowed the party to have a lot of influence on the Scottish government.s, 2023After the election of
Humza Yousaf as
Leader of the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Green Party National Council unanimously voted to direct its MSPs to vote for Yousaf to become First Minister and continue their power-sharing agreement. During the leadership campaign, the party had suggested it would not support a government led by the other candidates. The party's co-leaders served as ministers in the
first Yousaf government from March 2023 to April 2024. In government, the party introduced the
first government bill from a Green Minister. (furthest right) announcing new legal targets for nature recovery.On 3 August 2023,
Robin Harper, the party's first MSP resigned, claiming the party had 'lost the plot'. Harper announced he would vote Labour in the
2024 UK general election. Nonetheless, the party also enjoyed an unprecedented level of support.
Success in local government The
2022 Scottish local elections saw a record result for the party, doubling its seat count to 35. The party elected councillors for the first time in
North Lanarkshire,
South Lanarkshire,
Argyll and Bute,
Clackmannanshire,
Shetland,
East Lothian,
Moray and the
Scottish Borders. The party committed to introduce policies in local government based on climate and social justice. In the central belt cities, the party also got closer to power, either supporting a minority administration or attempting to form a coalition with the SNP in
Glasgow and
Edinburgh. In March 2024, the
party won its first ever by-election, electing Seonad Hoy as a councillor in
Hillhead ward in Glasgow.
End of the Bute House agreement Following the announcement by
Màiri McAllan that the Scottish Government's legally binding target to see a 75% percent reduction in emissions by 2030 would not be achieved and was to be scrapped, an extraordinary general meeting was called by Scottish Green Party members to discuss the future of the agreement. On 25 April 2024, following a meeting at Bute House, it was decided that the power sharing agreement would come to an end. The Scottish Greens contested in the
2024 United Kingdom general election in Scotland. The party run in 44 out of 57 seats and received 3.8% of the vote share in Scotland while winning zero seats. Their best result was in
Glasgow South where they came in third place and received 5,554 votes (13.1%). This was the best general election result of the party's history. A
co-leadership election took place in August 2025, and
Gillian Mackay and
Ross Greer were elected as the new co-leaders of the party. The new co-leaders will help lead the party into the
2026 Scottish Parliament election. ==Organisation==