A GREENS MSP has been accused of “shocking” disloyalty to his constituents after formally calling for a Clyde freeport bid to be rejected.

West of Scotland MSP Ross Greer has submitted a motion at Holyrood, insisting the parliament “opposes plans for the Clyde green freeport, and all other Scottish freeport bids”.

But the Conservatives have labelled the move “astonishing” and will be tabling an alternative motion backing the freeport attempt.

Two freeports are set to be set-up in Scotland offering tax breaks for traders in designated areas who prove they are contributing to net zero goals.

A host of areas across Scotland have submitted bids, with two areas set to be designated north of the border.

In his motion, Mr Greer has stressed that previous freeport schemes “resulted in jobs being relocated from other regions into areas where employers can avoid paying a fair share of tax”, meaning new jobs were not created in total.

He points to “failed” enterprise zones set up in Clydebank and Inverclyde in the 1980s, which Mr Greer said “saw both areas remain among those with the highest unemployment, despite attracted a large number of businesses”.

Mr Greer said that 23.8 per cent of Inverclyde's children live in relative poverty.

His motion called on “Inverclyde Council and the Scottish and UK governments to use their powers and funds to address poverty directly instead of pursuing this freeport bid”.

But the Conservatives have criticised the move by the Greens MSP.

Scottish Tory MSP for Glasgow region, Sandesh Gulhane, said: “This is an astonishing motion for a West of Scotland MSP to propose and it shows how out of touch Ross Greer and the Scottish Greens are.

“If the Clyde bid was one of the two Scottish one to be chosen for freeport status it would provide a massive boost to the economy of Glasgow and the surrounding area, attracting inward investment and creating jobs.”

He added: “I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that the Greens are opposed to this, given they don’t even believe in the concept of economic growth – but it’s still shocking to see Ross Greer proactively condemn something that would benefit people in his region.

“I will be submitting an alternative motion to the Scottish Parliament fully backing the Clyde freeport bid.”

In response, Mr Greer said: ""Freeports are a failed Tory gimmick that have no place in Scotland.

"It is no surprise that Sandesh Gulhane and his colleagues are so supportive of a scheme which gives big tax breaks to corporations and drives down terms and conditions for workers.

"Where Freeports have been tried they have only made regional inequality worse by moving jobs around the country rather than creating new ones, all whilst helping companies avoid paying the taxes we need to support essential public services.

"Internationally, they have been consistently associated with crime, money-laundering, smuggling, low wages and environmental damage."

He added: "Warm words don't protect people and the environment from greedy corporations, hard laws do and in this case there is plenty of the former and nowhere near enough of the latter.

"Freeports will only benefit the super-rich, who have pushed hardest for them. The people of Inverclyde certainly won't see the benefit if precedent from across the world is anything to go by. 

"Almost a quarter of children in the area are growing up in poverty, largely because of policy choices made by Mr Gulhane's Tory party. 

"The limited resources we have should be used to tackle this rather than on yet more giveaways to highly profitable corporations."