The Scottish Greens have decided to rekindle their relationship with the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW).
This announcement follows a motion brought to the party council by the Rainbow Greens in December that had overwhelming support.
In October 2022 members of the Scottish Greens voted to suspend ties with GPEW after accusing them of failing to tackle transphobia, and showing a lack of respect for devolution and arguments for Scottish independence.
“Confuse those who would turn to the Scottish Greens for independence.”
This vote stopped GPEW members from automatically attending certain meetings of the Scottish Greens but did not stop informal cooperation between the groups.
Zack Polanski, leader of the GPEW, said he was “delighted by this decision” to strengthen ties between the Scottish Greens and GPEW.
He continued: “It formalises the reality that our members and Scottish Greens share common values.”
The University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Green Party society told The Student: “Trans rights are fundamental to our beliefs as Greens, and we are glad that since 2022, and especially under Zack Polanski’s leadership, GPEW has taken action against the toxic and bigoted TERFS who destabilised our relationship in the first place.”
“Close collaboration can only work in favour of our parties on either side of the border. We hope and anticipate that this rekindling of ties will be mutually beneficial.”
Student opinion on the strengthened ties between the groups was mixed and one second-year student told The Student: “One of my main concerns surrounding the strengthening of ties is the issue of devolution and independence.”
“With the recent issues surrounding the state of the SNP I believe that the Scottish Greens are the party that people will turn to and will support based on their stance, but the reacquainting with the GPEW may jeopardise this and confuse those who would turn to the Scottish Greens for independence.”
Another student involved with the local Scottish Greens branch said: “Any closer alignment is more likely to take the form of shared ideas and campaign expertise as opposed to formal organisational ties.”
“The Scottish Greens are an autonomous party with distinct priorities shaped by Scotland’s political context, particularly around independence, devolved powers, and social issues.”
“Scottish Green Party Logo” by Zebra848, Do Good Advertising. Copyright Scottish Green Party, permission granted to Wikimedia to use is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.