THE Scottish Greens have dismissed a call by Pete Wishart to help the SNP keep Perth “Tory free” after it emerged the party is fielding a candidate in the key marginal seat.
Elspeth Maclachlan will be contesting Perth and North Perthshire for the Greens, which is a target for the Conservatives.
Local MP Wishart has voiced concerns the move will split the independence vote and help the Tories win. But the Scottish Greens yesterday said he should “stop advocating for obscenely wealthy oil and gas firms to receive tax breaks” if he wants to win the support of Green voters.
After it emerged Maclachlan would be standing, Wishart tweeted: “I have a majority of 21. The last time the Greens contested P&NP [Perth and North Perthshire] they got over 1000 votes. Our independence comrades know that they possibly can’t win here.
"The Greens ‘bete noire’, one Murdo Fraser will be raising one for the Greens tonight.”
He pointed Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie and MSP Mark Ruskell to a comment from an SNP member saying the Green party had “lost his wife’s second vote” over the issue, adding “my timeline is full of tweets like this”.
Wishart added: “I understand only a few of your Perthshire members turned up to the meeting where this was decided and many thought it was to be ‘consulted’ on. Maybe a chat to see how we can keep P&NP Tory free?”
Hi @patrickharvie and @markruskell my timeline is full of tweets like this. I understand only a few of your Perthshire members turned up to the meeting where this was decided and many thought it was to be 'consulted' on. Maybe a chat to see how we can keep P&NP Tory free? https://t.co/GiVF5sjfTc
— Pete Wishart (@PeteWishart) November 1, 2019
READ MORE: Brexit, People’s Vote, or indyref2 – what will the General Election bring?
However, Harvie also tweeted about the issue, saying: “Election time; when Greens across Scotland are told ‘don’t stand there, you’ll split the indy vote’ and ‘if you’re not standing here, you’re nationalist stooges’ and ‘you should back whoever can stop Brexit’ and ‘so much for putting climate first!’”
He went on: “Wild idea: Everyone stop taking other people’s votes for granted, because none of them belong to you.
“Campaign positively on your own ideas, and where you win it’ll be because people actually choose to support you, not because you intimidated anyone else of the ballot paper.”
The Scottish Greens have ruled out entering any “official electoral alliances” with the SNP, citing climate concerns. A motion on the issue was passed by delegates at the final day of the party’s autumn conference.
Last week, the Sunday National revealed local Green activists had opted not to stand in some Tory-held seats, boosting the chances of the SNP retaking the seats from Boris Johnson’s party.
They include Scottish Secretary Alister Jack’s Dumfries and Galloway constituency and David Mundell’s Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency.
READ MORE: SNP’s chances of ousting Tory MPs boosted as Greens opt out
Yesterday, a spokesman for the Scottish Greens said: “On Thursday the SNP Government announced it missed its latest greenhouse gas emissions target.
“Our candidates will advocate for a Scottish Green New Deal to tackle the climate crisis, and create thousands of quality, long lasting unionised jobs in Scotland’s green economy. The science tells us this bold action is urgently needed if we are to prevent climate breakdown.”
He added: “If Mr Wishart wishes to attract Green voters he’d be well advised to stop advocating for obscenely wealthy oil and gas firms to receive tax breaks and acknowledge that the majority of fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground.”
The SNP said only a vote for their party would ensure an escape from the “Brexit chaos” and put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.
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