This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater should have quit as Green Party co-leaders when the Bute House deal with the SNP collapsed.
Yes, it was all down to the abject political naivety of Humza Yousaf, who pulled the trigger on the pact only to shoot himself in both feet and lose his premiership. But the end of the deal should also have been an opportunity for the Greens to renew themselves.
The party’s messaging is abysmal. A huge space on the left of the political spectrum exists that’s been vacated by Labour. Voters are crying out for a leftwing alternative to Labour, and to some extent the SNP.
Whilst the Greens are firmly on the left, they have – whether they like it or not, or accept it or not – put class and economics firmly on the back-burner. Indeed, even their environmentalism is overshadowed by their identity politics.
Now, let’s be clear, I’m not suggesting the Greens shred everything they stand for, throw LGBT people under the bus, and become some sort of Old Labour avatar.
A party is needed that defends minorities in this era. However, identity politics don’t need to be front and centre all the time.
The public knows that Greens will stand up for trans people, or any other picked upon group. That’s a given.
What most folk would probably like to hear more about is the party’s positioning on progressive taxation and wealth redistribution. Such policies would have a readymade audience were they in the shop window.
Greens may be shocked that so few people know anything about their economic policies. That’s nobody’s fault but their own. Get better at communicating.
The party must also completely refresh its approach to environmentalism. Again, what matters here is public perception.
While the Greens may indeed have thoroughly worked out policies on net zero and costed plans for the just transition, all the public hears when the Greens speak is: we’re going to make you poorer in order to tackle climate change.
You can have all the perfect and pure principles in the world, but you’ll gain not an inch in the political race if voters believe you’ll pick their pockets. And voters believe the Greens will do just that.
The stupidity and clumsiness with which, for example, the issue of heat pumps was handled was a masterclass in how not to communicate.
The party allowed the belief to fester that the cost of heat pumps would hit voters hard, and by the time they tried to fight back it was too late.
And let’s be honest, heat pumps can – not always, but sometimes – be more expensive. They can also deliver savings over gas boilers.
The public will only buy into climate policies if they believe those policies won’t hurt them. And nor should climate policies hurt people.
Net zero must not cost jobs. It should create jobs. These are the messages the Greens should communicate, and the policies they should refine.
Greens must work tirelessly to ditch their middle-class, privileged, patronising image.
Evidently, some Green evangelists may say we must be scared, and who cares if saving the planet costs money as poverty is better than the world burning. That’s not how voter psychology operates.
Most folk fret about affording their car or family holidays – neither of which are green lifestyle choices. But again, tough. Voters are voters.
Read more from Neil Mackay:
- It’s toxic: the inside story of the Greens in meltdown after their SNP deal collapsed
- How the collapse of the Bute House deal played into Green Party’s hands
- The union is on borrowed time, the Yes parties must prepare
Voters aren’t obliged to vote for you, listen to you, or believe you. Voters are ordinary people who must be wooed. And the Greens have done a terrible job wooing the electorate.
Currently, in the Holyrood constituency vote Greens hover around 4%, and at 8% on the regional list. Both down on previous polls. So hardly encouraging.
What will change Green fortunes is a full reboot. That also means getting rid of Lorna Slater.
She apparently intends to run again as co-leader when Harvie stands down. She should be voted out to allow the party to grow.
Nor should the party opt for some unknown backroom apparatchik or councillor as co-leader, as they may well do. That’s idiotic.
They need people with public profiles. Unless they can persuade David Attenborough to lead, it’s probably best to pick from among the MSPs.
Ross Greer may not be the best choice, either. There’s much hostility towards him in the rank and file.
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So an opportunity looms here for you, Greens. You can shift the dial.
Get yourselves two new leaders, and put working-class economics front and centre. When it comes to leftwing politics, the field is yours now. Labour has departed the pitch. The Scottish Greens could be the leftwing alternative to the populism of Reform.
Central to that shift towards becoming a party which puts economics and workers first will be the decision to reconfigure environmental policies so they don’t repel voters, rather they bring voters onboard.
Equally, go somewhat softer on the culture war identity politics. We know what you stand for, you don’t need to abandon principle, just don’t beat everyone over the head with it.
The bottom line is: it’s time for the Greens to shed the perception that they’re a student politics outfit. If you grow up – change and evolve – you’ll find there’s a much better chance of fulfilling all those ambitions you’ve long held.
The alternative, evidently, is some other party forms which fills the leftwing gap that’s currently vacant, and the Greens just dwindle into insignificance.
