6TH MEP SEAT OPEN, OUR GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN CONTRASTS WITH UKIP
The Scottish Greens are highlighting the grassroots support for their campaign to elect Edinburgh councillor Maggie Chapman as Scotland's first Green MEP in the European election on Thursday (22 May).
Political commentators are expecting the Libdems to lose their seat, and it could be the Greens, Ukip or the SNP who take it. The Greens secured over 7 per cent of the vote in 2009, and recent Scottish samples of opinion polls have had the party as high as 15, ahead of Ukip and the Libdems.
And due to the proportional voting system a Green vote is worth three times as much as an SNP vote by the time the nationalists have had 2 MEPs elected.
In recent weeks Scottish Greens have been campaigning across the country with teams of supporters delivering tens of thousands of postcards and speaking to voters about the party's 32 page manifesto, while lead candidate Maggie Chapman has been taking part in debates and giving speeches from Ullapool to Dumfries.
This contrasts with Ukip who earlier this year were described as in meltdown in Scotland, whose lead candidate has already been selected to fight a Westminster seat in London, and whose billboards have been funded with £1.5 million from a former Tory donor.
Maggie Chapman said:
"It's impossible to escape Farage's face on TV and in the press, yet this blanket coverage bears no relation to what I or any Green supporters are finding on the streets. Ukip doesn't exist in Scotland and our message of hope, contrasting sharply with Farage's message of hate, is resonating strongly with Scots.
"We have a real opportunity on Thursday to send a powerful and positive message about the kind of Scotland we want. By voting Green we choose an economy that works for all, we reject the aggressive Nato nuclear alliance, and we say Scotland is a welcoming country, where free movement of people is an asset."