The Scottish Greens have increased their membership by 10% over the last six months, top bosses say ahead of the party’s autumn conference.
The pro-independence environmentalist party has seen a boost in recent months with the election of two new co-leaders, MSPs Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay.
Mackay said: “I am really proud to be the co-leader of a party that is growing in the polls and seeing membership surges all across the country.
“Our activists and branches are the bedrock of our movement, and I am delighted that so many people are joining and boosting our movement.”
Reports in 2024 disclosed that the Greens had a membership of 7,646.
Now, an 800 member increase in the last six months has resulted in the party’s highest level of support since 2016, with the number of members reaching 8,279, more than the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
Mackay added: “With more supporters we can take our party to the next level and take on those who are rigging the system against people and the planet.
“We have shown the impact Green voices can have. It is Green MSPs and Green members who delivered free bus travel for everyone under 22, removed peak rail fares and scrapped school meal debt.
“There are fantastic Green councillors in our city chambers and town halls, delivering real grassroots action for their communities.”
The Scottish Greens’ autumn conference will run from Friday to Sunday at the John MacIntyre Conference Centre on the University of Edinburgh’s Pollock campus.
Delegates will discuss topics including ‘Disability Allyship in the Green Movement’, ‘How to replace plunder capitalism: making peace with nature’, and ‘A Road Map for Ending Scotland's Housing Emergency’.
The party has campaigned on a number of eco-populist issues, ranging from pausing new salmon farms and blocking the Flamingo Land development, to putting Scotland football matches on free-to-view TV.
However, leaders attracted controversy during their time in government between 2021 and 2024, with Lorna Slater’s doomed deposit return scheme a key culprit.
The conference will be the first of the Mackay-Greer leadership collective, which took power in August after long-time party leader Patrick Harvie stood down.
Greer and Mackay saw off challenges from Slater, who was defeated in her bid for re-election and party activist Dominic Ashmole.
950 members voted in the ballot, a turnout of 12.5%.
Mackay won 34% of the vote in the first round, and Greer bested Slater in the second round by 317 votes to 304.
With his victory, Greer, 31, became the youngest person to lead a political party at Holyrood, while Mackay, 33, is not far behind.
Speaking to reporters after the votes were counted, Mackay said the result reflected a ‘generational shift’ in the party’s leadership.
“Ross and I will lead with courage and listen with intent, with members at the heart of our movement,” she noted.
In July, activists raised concerns over a complicated voting system used to tally ballots for the party’s Holyrood list selection, leading election official Kate Joester to step down over an ‘anomaly’ in the results.
The party later confirmed that a software error had occurred, and issued a revised candidate list.
Months away from the Holyrood election in May, Scottish Greens brass are confident in their ability to grasp as many as 15 seats on the regional list.
The ‘generational shift’ has not been limited to Scotland, with the Green Party of England and Wales also recording a rise in membership.
Zack Polanski took over as leader in September, defeating incumbent party boss Adrian Ramsey.
Charismatic and media-savvy, self-declared ‘eco-populist’ Polanski has overseen a 50% membership increase over the last month, eclipsing more than 100,000 members for the first time.
Read more:
Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay elected as new Scottish Green co-leaders
Where's Scotland's Zack Polanski? Scottish Greens are going nowhere
'I'm just a wee bam from Grangemouth' How Gillian Mackay aims to lead Scottish Greens
The London Assembly member says the party has the Labour Party in its sights.
Polanski noted: “More than 100,000 people have now joined the Green movement. That’s 100,000 people who believe politics can be honest, fair and hopeful again.
“When I was elected leader last month, I said that we’re not here to be disappointed with Labour but that we’re here to replace them. I was serious.
"Because while Labour talks about change, people can see in their weekly shop, their utility bills and crumbling services, Labour are offering more of the same.”
