AN article in the New European (March 25) on the possibility of the next Chancellor of Germany being from the Green Party got me thinking about the status of green parties in the UK.
Caroline Lucas does an excellent job as the sole English Green party MP and I would be proud to have her represent my constituency, but unfortunately given the Westminster electoral system the Greens will always struggle to expand on their one MP.
Conversely the Scottish system for electing MSPs has allowed the Scottish Greens to get a sizeable representation in Holyrood and make real policy impact. To see Lorna Slater, the Scottish Greens co-convenor, interviewed on The Andrew Marr Show was for me a real breakthrough moment. This gave Lorna the platform to do what she is very good at, namely putting forward the positive policy ideas which the Scottish Greens have for Scotland, and which the Holyrood electoral system gives us the ability to get implemented.
READ MORE: Lorna Slater: There is much more than political sideshows to focus on in this election
Another breakthrough moment was the election of Steve Sankey as a Green councillor in Orkney. This may seem quite a mundane event, but given the tradition of Orcadian councillors being avowedly independent this was anything but mundane. Steve has applied a collegiate approach as a councillor which has produced funding wins for Orkney and convinced another Orcadian councillor to join the Greens.
The fact that in letters and articles folk who are of the pro- and anti-independence viewpoint pour scorn on the Scottish Greens tells me that we are on the right track. When you are accused of both stealing SNP votes and of being SNP stooges, that tells me we have our political opponents worried. I think the thing that non-plusses our opponents is that we are pro-independence for a purpose, which is to make Scotland a better place to live, but in the here and now we propose and get implemented policies which make Scotland a better place to live.
So in conclusion I would ask my fellow Scottish electors to take a good look at the Green party, its achievements thus far, the policy ideas for the next five years and vote Green in the coming Holyrood election.
Jon Southerington
Deerness, Orkney
I HAVE voted in 18 Westminster and Holyrood elections and few, if any, have seemed as important as the forthcoming Holyrood one. Apart obviously from hoping that my own candidates win, I have one overriding wish for this year’s plebiscite and that is that younger people, especially those eligible to vote for the first time, cast their votes.
It is this younger generation that will be most affected by the ramifications of Covid, of Brexit, of climate change, of possible constitutional issues and so on.
READ MORE: Scottish Labour refuse to agree Unionist tactical voting pact with Tories
So I hope and believe that they do their research and turn out in droves to cast their vote for the party that best meets their aspirations.
Although voting is a privilege, it is also a hard-won right and I still actually enjoy putting my “X” next to my candidates. I therefore encourage every young voter to cast their vote and share in that feeling. After all, imagine not voting and seeing your preferred candidate lose by a single vote.
C Donaldson
Moffat
IT is worth reminding National readers that anyone who is an EU citizen must apply to the EU settlement Scheme to continue to live in the UK after June 30. The EUSS Step by Step Guide is available in 26 different languages.
It is equally important to know that anyone who is a foreign citizen, aged 16 years or over and living in Scotland, can register to vote and take part in the Scottish elections on May 6. The deadline to register is April 19. People can register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Mary Ward
Forfar
I WAS very disappointed to read Robin MacLean’s letter (March 27) suggesting that the word “independence” not be used in the campaign against British colonial rule. If not, then what?
This comes as a surprise as Mr MacLean usually writes good letters as a strong supporter of independence, or whatever he'd rather call it.
READ MORE: This is why we should avoid use of the 'I-word'
It was bad enough when, back in 2014, Alex Salmond said that we shouldn’t use the word “freedom” in the referendum campaign, but now it is suggested we mustn’t use the “I” word.
I say all of us who want to break from the UK should proudly use the words “freedom”, “independence” and “national liberation”.
Jeff Fallow
Windygates, Fife
I WONDER if voters such as my wife and I (seventies/eighties) are really voting No. Many of the letters I read in the letters pages also seem to come from those in this age group. As my wife says about many things these days, we’d like to see them happen in our lifetimes. Nicola really needs to get on with things. Maybe Alex can move her along a little.
Robert Mitchell
Alva
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