Scottish Greens’ first MSP quits party

The first MSP elected for the Scottish Greens has quit the party, he has announced.

Robin Harper served in the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and 2011, becoming the first elected member of the Green Party in the UK, but has since opposed parts of his former party’s platform.

In a letter to Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie, published in the Times, Mr Harper pointed to the party’s stance on transgender rights, Scottish independence and what he described as its “failure to co-operate” with other bodies, including the UK Government.

He wrote: “I have decided that the time has come to resign my life membership of the Scottish Green Party.

“When I stepped down from parliament to work in the NGO environment sector I decided to stay strictly clear of the Holyrood political scene, and I write this after lengthy consideration, elements of which go back as far as 2003.

“As you know, I am politically left of centre, and with the Socialists to the left of us I felt the SGP was in the right place.

“I have watched with some concern the Scottish Green Party moving into the gap left by the Socialists in content, and also adopting their stridency of expression.”

He added: “You will also be aware of my serious concerns about the way we are handling the situation with the trans community.

“There may be little point in my expressing my views at this stage, but hopefully the Scottish parliament will return to listening mode when the Cass and Sandyford reports have been published.

“I believe that a complete overhaul of the way our child and adolescent mental health services are working is essential and urgent.”

Mr Harper urged his former party to adopt a more “constructive” approach.

“I believe that if the Scottish Green Party wishes to retain the respect of the nation, it needs to approach its task with a more constructive mindset and a willingness to co-operate,” he said.

“It is no longer a campaigning pressure group, it is a political party and this means its elected representatives should listen as much as they shout, or the Green agenda will not progress.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Green Party told the Times: “Our party has always been committed to social and environmental justice as well as to independence,” he said.

“Independence and human rights, including the rights of trans people, are at the core of our vision and have been since our party was founded over 30 years ago.

“Our commitment to that vision has seen us achieve record result after record result in recent elections.”

Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said the letter from Mr Harper should give First Minister Humza Yousaf “food for thought”.

“The SNP First Minister should not continue to be in thrall to the extremist and anti-growth Greens, who he is using to help push his independence obsession rather than focusing on Scotland’s real priorities,” he said.