THE Scottish Greens have announced the result of their party's first co-leadership election.

Patrick Harvie and European Parliament candidate Lorna Slater are the new co-leaders of the party.

Maggie Chapman, the former co-convener of the party, was in the position for over five years and is now stepping down.

Also on the ballot were Aberdeen Greens co-convener Guy Ingerson and North Lanarkshire activist Graham Kerr.

Responding to the news, Patrick Harvie MSP said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be elected along with Lorna as one of the Scottish Greens Co-Leaders. Green voices have never been more important as we face up to the climate emergency. The science is clear - we have just over a decade to transform our economy for the better and avert an existential crisis, but the other parties are happy to carry on with business as usual.

“Greens have been leading the change by fighting for and winning a fairer income tax system, meaning most Scots pay less that their UK counterparts, and those who can afford it pay a bit more, we’ve delivered hundreds of millions for local services across the country and initiated a process to scrap the hated Tory council tax.

“As Co-Leader I’ll continue to lead the fight to transform our economy to put our climate and our communities first.”

Lorna Slater said: “I’m excited to be elected Co-Leader and look forward to working with Patrick as we head toward our most important election in 2021.

“I look forward to contributing my expertise in marine renewable energy and manufacturing in Scotland to our proposal for a Scottish Green New Deal, ensuring that we take advantage of all the social and economic opportunities that come along with tackling the climate emergency.

“Scotland has significant renewable resources such as wind and tidal energy, we have the manufacturing and offshore infrastructure to become a powerhouse of clean energy generation. We can ensure everyone lives in a warm home which they can afford to heat and invest in reopening rail links and stations as part of a transport vision fit for the 21st century. We already have the skills and resources to transform our economy, tackle the climate emergency and create thousands of quality jobs along the way, and I’ll work to deliver that transformation in the coming years.”

A new constitution adopted at the party's spring conference this year led to the co-convener role being dropped to be replaced by co-leader roles.

Under rules set out by the party, at least one of the co-leaders elected must be a woman.

The leaders will be elected for a two-year term, meaning they will lead the party into the next Holyrood election.

They will act as chief spokespeople and be responsible for the political leadership of the party.