Green Group in the Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP
Ph: 44 131 348 6363
Fax: 44 131 348 6375

Members of the national parliament

The Scottish Green Party was formed (as the Scottish Ecology Party) in 1979. In these early years it was part of the UK-wide Ecology Party, which had been formed in 1974. In 1986 the Ecology Party became the Green Party.

Throughout the 1980s the Scottish Party developed its own campaigns and policy programme, culminating in the landmark programme and vision, "Towards a Green Scotland" in 1990. In the late 1980s the Scottish Green Party also began to have a marked impact in elections. This reached an early peak in the 1989 European elections, where the party achieved 7.5% over all of Scotland and over 10% in Lothian. Only the UK's adherence to first-past-the-post voting prevented Scottish Green MEPs joining other Green MEPs in the European Parliament.

In 1990 the Scottish Green Party became a separate party from the party in England and Wales (Northern Ireland also took this route later). The separation was entirely amicable, as part of the green commitment to decentralisation and we still share campaigns and ideas as part of the Green Islands Network.

The early 1990s were a difficult time for the new Scottish Green Party, as for green campaigning generally. Hopes of constitutional change were dashed by the unexpected result of the 1992 general election. As perpetual Tory rule appeared to be a possibility, some senior activists sought to route their commitment to greening Scotland through a number of other projects and the party found it difficult to make a serious impact in elections that followed.

However, the 1997 devolution referendum result sparked new enthusiasm, the consequence of which was revived campaigning and policy activity. The result was the election of Robin Harper as the first Green Parliamentarian in the UK in the Scottish elections of May 1999. The European elections that followed in June 1999 confirmed the re-emergence of the Scottish Greens as an electoral presence. We had shown what we had always argued to be true: that when fair voting systems are introduced, voters turn to Greens in far larger numbers. The 2001 general election, although contested in only a few strategic seats by the party, led to the best ever set of Westminster results by the Scottish Greens.

While 1999 saw the party get its 'foot in the door' of the Scottish Parliament, 2003 saw the party push that door wide open. With over 132,000 votes (6.9%) and 7 seats in the Scottish Parliament, we are now the fifth political party of Scotland. Our media profile, and subsequently our influence on Scottish politics, has grown considerably as a result.

We remain a small party, with fewer than 1,000 members, but this number is growing fast.

The introduction of the Scottish Parliament (in 1999), with a partly-proportional voting system and the inevitability of voting reform for local councils, mean that the impact of the Scottish Green Party is likely to grow in future years. So much so that in the May 2003 elections the Scottish Greens shot up to 7 MSPs.

Our main campaign topics are: renewable energy, transport, development of a sustainable national and local economy, land reform and food (including campaigning against GM). Our policies are designed to create a fairer and more sustainable society and to alleviate poverty, which is a huge problem in many urban and rural areas of Scotland. A sustainable Scotland is achievable, but current policies of both UK and Scottish Governments continue to promote old, failed solutions which will give more problems to future generations in Scotland.

We have a Party Council which meets quarterly to direct policy, and an Executive Committee to manage the work of running the party. These work with eight regional parties around the country.

As part of the Green Islands Network, the North Sea Network and the European Federation of Green Parties, we place our local and national efforts into the context of a global green perspective.  

current government

Scottish Government:
UK Government:

Next Elections:

Latest Green Party Election Results:

• Scottish Election year: 2007
  Total No. Scottish Votes: 82.584
  MSPs : 2
  Gained: 4 %
• National Election year: 2005
  Total No. Scottish Votes: 25.760
  MPs: 0
  Gained: 1.1 %
• European Elections: 2004
  Total No. European Votes: 79.695
  MEPs: 0
  Gained: 6,65 % (across Scotland)