Scottish Greens

Edinburgh Should Value It's Greenbelt Land

comms Mon 10 Jun, 2013

I’m urging Edinburgh residents concerned at the proposed Local Development Plan to have their say before the city council’s consultation closes later this week (14 June).

Government Misses Second CO2 Target: Greens Demand Debate

Fri 7 Jun, 2013

Scottish Greens are demaning an urgent debate in parliament following the failure to meet Scotland's legally-binding greenhouse gas reduction targets for the second year in a row.

Figures released today (7 June) show Scotland emitted almost a million tonnes of CO2 equivalent more than the target laid down in the Climate Change Act. This follows last year's figures which showed a similar failure.

The target for 2011 was 53.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Emissions were 54.2 million.

Research Shows Logic Of Left Voting Yes In IndyRef

Thu 6 Jun, 2013

Responding to analysis by ScotCen Social Research, Green MSP Patrick Harvie says it is increasingly clear that left-leaning voters who care about social justice should vote Yes in next year's independence referendum.

Franchise Bill Misses Chance To Aid Rehabilitation

Thu 6 Jun, 2013

Green MSP Patrick Harvie is describing today's decision by the Referendum Bill committee of the Scottish Parliament to rule out any votes for prisoners as a missed opportunity to aid rehabilitation.

Mr Harvie tabled amendments to the Franchise Bill, which determines who gets to vote in next year's independence referendum. These offered options for ending the blanket ban on prisoners voting, such as extending the vote to prisoners serving sentences of less than six months and to inmates who had less than six months of their sentence left to serve at the time of the vote.

SPEAK UP FOR MUSSELBURGH IMPROVEMENTS

comms Thu 6 Jun, 2013

I'm backing plans to revive Musselburgh town centre, and I am urging the public to have their say on long-awaited proposals from East Lothian Council.

ALISON JOHNSTONE WELCOMES CHANCE TO DEBATE "HIDDEN GM" FOODS

Wed 5 Jun, 2013

Green MSP Alison Johnstone is welcoming confirmation from the Scottish Government that it intends to hold a debate in parliament on food labelling, amid growing concerns about GM materials hidden in everyday foods.

Alison recently tabled a motion in parliament highlighting the fact that major supermarkets have scrapped policies that prevented animals fed on genetically-modified crops reaching the shelves.

Land Reform: Greens Urge Ministers To Be Bold

Wed 5 Jun, 2013

Scottish Greens are urging ministers to be bolder on land reform, and look at measures including land value tax.

The interim report of the Land Reform Review Group set up by the Scottish Government has been criticised for failing to tackle issues such as tax avoidance and absentee landlords.

Too often jobs on offer are low-skilled and low-waged with limited security

comms Tue 4 Jun, 2013

Today the Scottish Parliament debates the findings of the report into “underemployment”we carried out on the economy committee. It’s an incredibly serious issue, and I look forward to contributing to the debate.

The latest edition of Greenprint magazine features my thoughts on the subject. You can read them below.

Alison

Massive Biomass Plant On The Forth 'Poor Decision'

Mon 3 Jun, 2013

Green MSP Alison Johnstone says the Scottish Government has made a "poor decision" by granting planning permission for a massive biomass plant on the shores of the Firth of Forth.

The Grangemouth facility will burn up to 1.5 million tonnes of imported wood a year.

Extending free bus passes to community transport

comms Fri 31 May, 2013

Too many older people are still waiting to benefit from the bus pass scheme.

I’m pleased to support Age Scotland’s campaign “Still Waiting“, which calls on Scottish Ministers to adjust the National Concessionary Travel scheme so that the bus pass is valid on community transport services.