Ahead of election day on 4 July, the Student sat down with Jo Phillips, the Scottish Green Party candidate for Edinburgh South, to find out her views on issues close to students.
A newcomer to professional politics, Phillips has spent 20 years as a landscape architect working on onshore and offshore wind farms, earning a postgraduate certificate in climate change management from the University of Edinburgh in 2020.
Speaking on the move, she said:
“I feel like the climate change crisis is worsening, that more needs to be done, and I felt an obligation to do more.”
Climate Change
The Scottish Greens oppose new oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea. Unite, a leading trade union, has saida similar Labour proposal risks sacrificing North Sea workers “on the altar of net zero”.
Phillips accepted there was “a just transition issue in North East of Scotland” but said investment to help these workers transition to a green economy would “work effectively”.
When asked why her party’s climate plans are more convincing than Labour’s proposals, Phillips responded:
I felt an obligation to do more
“I was encouraged when Labour announced their £28 million green investment pledge… I was totally disappointed when they backed down on that.”
Referencing Labour’s support for the Trident nuclear programme, which the Scottish Greens oppose, she said:
“They’re prepared to spend £31 billion on that, which has negative impacts for people and planet, and yet they can’t find that £28 million to tackle the worst challenge we’ve ever faced.”
Cost of Living Crisis
Comparing current levels of social inequality to the Victorian era, Phillips says she would be “more than happy” to impose a wealth tax on the richest one per cent of households.
The revenue from this tax – estimated by her party to generate £70 billion annually – would fund public services like the NHS.
“[T]hrough avoiding the incompetency and misspending that the Tories were responsible for [and] being smarter on prioritising than Labour will be, we’ve got a really strong case in terms of the economy on how we would fund a better country.”
It’s the fact that we put profit over people
Meanwhile, on Edinburgh’s housing emergency, Phillips said that the Scottish Greens aimed to improve tenant rights and ensure “everyone has warm, comfortable and liveable homes”.
She argued that improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption would help to lower costs.
Phillips disagreed that the Scottish Green’s environmentalist stance could limit the creation of affordable housing.
She said measures like investing in urban areas and increasing council tax on second homes could increase housing stock before greenfield sites were needed.
Greenfield sites are undeveloped, typically agricultural, areas.
Universities and Immigration
Phillips said the Scottish Greens are “positive about immigration” when discussing the UK government’s recent restrictions on international students.
“We think it’s disgraceful the way that immigrants are treated. It’s racist, and they’re not treated with dignity and respect.”
New student visa rules introduced in January mean only international students on research courses or with government-funded scholarships can bring family members.
While emphasising universities’ important role in the net-zero transition, Phillips raised personal concerns about the environmental impact of students travelling from overseas to university.
Defence Policy and the War in Gaza
Returning to her party’s opposition to Trident and NATO membership, Phillips rejected the argument that they protected the UK. She said:
“It does not bring peace and security. It does the exact opposite; it makes us a target.”
Regarding the steps Westminster should take in response to the war in Gaza, Phillips responded:
“Economic sanctions, an embargo on arms, and to come together and send out a really clear message to Israel that the war has to stop.”
Phillips also said she was “100% supportive” of divestment campaigns, including demands for the University of Edinburgh to divest from Amazon and Alphabet.
Message for Students
Asked what message she had for students, Phillips said:
“When you watch the news, you really have that thought, how could we let things get so bad?”
“It’s the fact that we put profit over people, which is evident in our inability to call the ceasefire in the war in Gaza, but also how we have a cost-of-living crisis with children in poverty and homelessness.”
“Labour will [get the conservatives out of government], but we’re selling ourselves short. We can do so much better.”
Update:
Following the interview, the Scottish Green Party’s first Member of the Scottish Parliament, Robin Harper, endorsed Edinburgh South’s Labour candidate, Ian Murray.
Having defected to Labour in January, Harper has criticised his former party’s support for independence and trans rights.
In response, Jo Phillips told the Student:
“We respect his decision to leave the party, but will not apologise for our policy positions, especially standing by those who are marginalised and discriminated against in our society.”
“[I]t is the Scottish Greens who have a clear vision for overcoming climate change with positive and progressive policies to deliver this vision in every sector.”
Image via The Scottish Green Party
Read the full transcript: