Greens will resist Tory ‘union unit’ and interference in work of Holyrood
Threats from the two Tory leadership contenders to impose a big brother style ‘union unit’ or interfere with the work of Holyrood will be fiercely resisted no matter which of them becomes the next UK Prime Minister, say the Scottish Greens.
Both candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, have obsessed over denying the right to an independence referendum demonstrate just how much contempt they like Boris Johnson before them have for the Scottish people, the party said.
A year on from the Scottish Greens and the SNP winning a majority of seats in Parliament off the back of pro-referendum manifestos, before signing an historic cooperation agreement, there is renewed focus on the list of achievements which have helped protect people from Westminster’s failures, highlighting just how vital the partnership has been.
The Scottish Greens are pledging a redoubling of that effort to further counter the impacts of Tory mishandling of the cost of living crisis, surge in energy prices, inflation, climate and Brexit.
Finance spokesman, Ross Greer MSP, said:
“This is the cruellest and most arrogant Tory government in a generation, right up there with Thatcher at her worst.”
“Even as the removal vans cart away the last remnants of a Boris Johnson administration which failed Scotland over and over again, it is clear we are in for more of the same.”
“The fact that both of the Prime Minister’s potential replacements say stopping Scotland’s democratic right to an independence referendum is a priority, and worse, that they intend to impose some big brother style unit to salvage the broken union, says it all.”
“They will promise anything - ripping money back from the poor and giving it to their rich pals, turning away desperate refugees, denying Scotland a chance to choose its own future - in order to get the keys to Downing Street and wreak even more havoc on society.
“By contrast the Scottish Greens, through the Scottish Government cooperation agreement with the SNP, have been working round the clock over the last year to deliver the kind of meaningful and progressive policies that are making a difference to people’s lives in real time.”
“While Labour have sat on the fence and the Tories caused further damage, we ensured a doubling of the Scottish Child Payment to £20 a week, introduced free bus travel for people under 22, and ended a range of grounds for mandatory eviction to better protect tenants.”
“As the Tories rush to drill for even more oil despite the climate emergency, we delivered the first round of a £500m Just Transition fund for communities in the North East, creating a new, low carbon future for the region, banned the most problematic single use plastics, and delivered the first ever Nature Restoration Fund.”
“We are helping families make their homes far more energy efficient and easier to heat, investing record sums in walking, wheeling and cycling and we’ve banned new waste incinerators - all things that will help protect our climate and communities.”
“Introducing the Gender Recognition Reform bill and commiting to a full ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ has shown that whilst the Tories are willing to abandon LGBT people, especially our vulnerable people, we never will.”
“And by introducing the Scottish Independence Referendum bill, we’ve made clear our commitment to a democratic process where everyone can have their say. The two Tory leadership contenders by contrast say they want to try and rule Scotland by remote control. People here will never accept that kind of interference by a Tory government they did not elect.”
“The challenges of the last two years, and now the cost of living crisis, have shown what happens when Scotland lacks the major economic powers required. With the full powers of a normal nation we can do so much more for people and for the planet.”
“We need bold, decisive action now and measures which won’t just last six months, but will transform how we cope with our energy and cost of living demands for years to come. The Scottish Greens will be setting out fresh proposals in the coming days on how that can be achieved.”
“Westminster has no functioning government, no credible opposition and no ideas, whereas the Scottish Greens and SNP, despite our differences, are serving the people who elected us together. Only progressive politics can help mitigate this cost of living crisis.”