THE Scottish Greens could return MSPs in each of Holyrood’s eight parliamentary regions, a leading member of the party has said.
Maggie Chapman made the comments as she announced she was stepping down as a councillor in Edinburgh to concentrate on becoming an MSP in next May’s Scottish elections.
Chapman, who is rector of Aberdeen University, has already been chosen as the party’s lead candidate in the North East area.
She said: “While I am taking nothing for granted and will work hard for every single vote, I also firmly believe that we can and will win MSPs in every region in Scotland.”
Polls have suggested the Greens could win up to 10 seats next year – placing them well ahead of the weakened Liberal Democrats, and possibly taking votes away from Labour.
The party is in the process of selecting candidates for the list as well as first-past-the-post constituencies, with convener Patrick Harvie already selected to fight Glasgow Kelvin.
It is campaigning on a pro-independence platform opposed to fiscal austerity and calling for the protection of public services.
Chapman said it had been a “huge honour and privilege” to represent the Leith Walk ward on Edinburgh City Council.
The Green Party in Edinburgh is in the process of selecting a candidate to stand for the area in the council by-election.
Steve Burgess, convener of the Green group on the council, said: “We will campaign hard to ensure a new Green councillor is elected at the by-election.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here