THE Scottish Greens have called for a "peaceful revolution" as they launched a general election manifesto that includes pledges to raise the minimum wage to a £10 an hour and introduce a regular state-funded payment to every person.
In a 20-page document, the party also states that employees should be given the legal right to buy out companies where they are treated poorly and transform them into workers' cooperatives.
The Greens have called for a "change in strategic direction" in terms of the North Sea oil industry, saying Scotland could become the "world centre of decommissioning the fossil fuel industry" while excelling in tidal and wave energy.
MSP Patrick Harvie, the party's co-convenor, said the independence referendum had been "transformational" for the Greens, with membership increasing to 8,500. For the first time, the party is standing candidates in the majority of Scottish constituencies.
He appeared to make an appeal to potential SNP voters who would like to see a more radical approach in some key policy areas including fracking and the military.
He said his party would support a permanent ban on fracking, rather than a moratorium, scrap Trident and also challenge the operation of NATO while opposing the entire TTIP trade deal between the United States and the EU, rather than calling for an exemption for the NHS.
He added: "We are seeing opportunities open up for radical political change, not only in this country but others hit even harder by the austerity agenda such as Greece. A determination and belief is being rekindled that we can do something better. The opportunity exists at this election not just to shift power from one party to another but to change the way we do politics throughout these islands."
Maggie Chapman, Mr Harvie's fellow Green co-convenor, said: "The landscape of politics in Scotland has changed beyond belief over the last year. We are keen on this idea of a peaceful revolution, for a country that puts people before profit and communities before corporations."
The manifesto also calls for the railways to be taken back into public ownership and a wealth tax on people worth more than £2.5m. A citizen's income, the party says, would mean a regular payment being made to everybody, including children, and replace the existing benefits system.
Peter McColl, the party's candidate for Edinburgh East, said: "For too long our economic and political system has driven poverty and driven people into poverty in order to produce a workforce that has no alternative but to take low quality, demeaning work."
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