Scottish Greens rekindle ties with Zack Polanski’s party after split

The announcement follows a motion to the Scottish Greens Party Council, which was understood to be supported overwhelmingly. It was brought forward by the Rainbow Greens, the party’s LGBT+ group, and was finalised through talks between the two parties.

​It overturns a previous decision by the Scottish Greens to distance the two parties over issues including trans rights.

Polanski said he was “delighted” by the vote, while Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer said he was glad members had chosen to “strengthen the relationship” between the two sister parties.

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We told just days ago how co-leader Gillian Mackay said the party “wouldn’t be sad” if Polanski made an appearance during the upcoming Scottish Parliament election campaign.

Announcing that relations had been restored, Greer said: “I’m really glad that our members have chosen to strengthen the relationship with our friends in the Green Party of England and Wales.

“Zack has made his position on Scottish independence and trans rights absolutely clear and has put equality and democracy at the heart of his leadership.

“Our team are looking forward to working with him to elect a record number of Greens in Scotland, Wales and England next May.”

Polanski added: “I’m delighted by this vote. It formalises the reality that our members and Scottish Greens share common values.

“I look forward to working together in the coming months and years to build our respective parties’ representation in local government, the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament.”

In October 2022, Scottish Green members formally suspended their association with the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW), over their sister party’s views on trans rights.

At the time, they also accused GPEW of disrespecting the devolution settlement.

The split meant that GPEW no longer had the automatic right to speak at official Scottish Green events, including party conferences, but the move was largely symbolic.

The suspension of ties was set to remain in effect “until such time that action is taken that satisfies the membership of the Scottish Green Party … to address both issues of transphobia and respect for the Scottish Green Party, our independence as a party, and the devolution settlement”.

Polanski has been a firm and vocal supporter of trans rights since he took over the leadership of GPEW, and he has also voiced support for Scottish independence.

All three party leaders have suggested in recent months that they wouldn’t be against closer ties to each other.

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Following the announcement, a spokesperson for Rainbow Greens said the group “are delighted to see both our parties working together again towards a trans inclusive future.”

Matt Rogan, co-chair of GPEW LGBTIQA+ Greens, said: “We are over the moon at hearing the news that the Scottish Greens are formally re-opening relations with the Green Party of England and Wales.

“It’s great that we’ll be working with them again on a unified fight for the rights of LGBTIQA+ people, with trans, non-binary and intersex people in particular coming under attack.”

Membership for the Greens south of the Border surged to over 100,000 after Polanski became leader in September 2025, while in Scotland the party also hit a record membership figure after co-leaders Mackay and Greer were elected in August last year.

In 2022, the two parties cut ties as, while GPEW’s official policies sought to expand transgender rights in the UK, the party was mired in internal rows often around the comments of former deputy leader Shahrar Ali.

Ali had called for transgender healthcare clinic GenderGP to be prohibited from working in the UK – a move others in the party said would create barriers to transgender care.In 2024, a court ruled GPEW had discriminated against Ali over his gender-critical beliefs. The BBC reports that he was removed as a party spokesperson, but the party had failed to identify any misconduct before doing so.