The rise of Reform UK has become ‘a danger to Scotland’, Patrick Harvie has warned.
Figures indicating Nigel Farage’s party is growing in support “underline the urgent need for a fairer, greener and independent Scotland”, the Scottish Greens party co-leader said.
According to election predictor Electoral Calculus, both Labour and the Conservatives at around 25-30% of the vote share in terms of voting intention with Reform steadily behind them at 22% as of December 2024.
This is a 7% increase in support from the 15% Reform got in July.
Voting intention tracker Find Out Now saw Reform tie with Labour with 25% of the vote, with Tories down seven points to 20%.
Harvie has said it is vital that the new Labour government delivers the change the country needs.
He said: “Reform and the politics they represent are a danger to Scotland. Whether they have called themselves UKIP, the Brexit Party or Reform, we know what they represent: prejudice, division and environmental vandalism.
“We cannot forget the central role that they played in delivering the disaster that is Brexit, which has increased costs, and curtailed people’s freedom to live and travel abroad. It is a toxic party. It does not offer any solutions. It would only make things worse for our communities and our environment.
“Scotland can and must do so much better than this. We need change, but it has to be rooted in building a fairer and better country, not scapegoating and empty slogans from a cynical millionaire-backed party that offers nothing.
“Their rise has also been fuelled by a cruel and incompetent Labour government that promised change but has doubled down on the failed policies of the Tories and plunged pensioners into fuel poverty.”
Harvie added: “Despite the severe limits of devolution we have always worked to build a fairer and greener Scotland that invests in services and supports families through policies like the Scottish Child Payment, free bus travel for young people and a real living wage for public sector workers.
STV NewsScottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie STV News
“There is so much more that we can and must do, but none of that would be helped by a Westminster government that is grounded in the reactionary politics of Reform or a Tory Party that is determined to lurch even further to the right.
“It is more vital than ever that we take our future into our own hands, take bold action, rejoin the European Union and deliver the change that is so badly needed for people and planet.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “Scotland has been badly let down by 14 years of Tory failure and almost 18 years of SNP mismanagement.
“Neither the divisive politics of Reform or gesture politics of the Greens will tackle the fundamental challenges our country faces – from the crisis in our NHS to the pressure on our schools to the record-breaking levels of homelessness.
“Only a Scottish Labour government can turn the page on SNP decline and deliver the new direction Scotland needs.”
Martyn Greene, Scotland organiser for Reform UK, commented: “Reform is delighted to be polling in Scotland at more than twice the votes cast for us in July 2024.
“Voters are increasingly realising that Reform is the only party offering alternative policies to the ‘Uniparty’ – whether in Scotland or the whole of the UK. All the legacy parties are continuing to push disastrous policies on Net Zero, regardless of the cost of closing down our oil and gas industries and the risk to our energy security.
“Just this week, the UK came close to power outages due to the over-reliance on wind and solar electricity. On agriculture, Reform is standing up for family farms which are vital for our food security.
“On the environment, the SNP and Green parties are happy to allow destruction of vast areas of peatland for developments of wind and solar, which the public are being fleeced for to pay subsidies. No wonder we are seen to be the party to stop the rot and lies.”
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