Scottish Greens should be renamed after series of environmental failures

Speaking ahead of the Scottish Green Party conference this weekend, Scottish Liberal Democrat Net Zero spokesperson Cllr Sanne Dijkstra-Downie suggested the party should change its name to the Scottish Not So Greens or the Say Nothing Party (SNP 2.0) to reflect their contribution to a series of environmental failures that they have helped preside over.

Her suggestion follows new Scottish Water figures which revealed a 10% increase in the number of sewage dumps in 2023. In 2023 alone, 21,660 discharges were logged, while sewage was dumped for a total of 221,002 across the whole year which amounts to more than 600 hours of dumping a day.

In March, the Climate Change Committee found that there is credible route to Scotland reducing its emissions by 75% by 2030. The report also noted that there is no comprehensive strategy for Scotland to decarbonise towards Net Zero and that Scotland has missed its annual targets eight times in the past 12 years.

Scottish Liberal Democrats indicated that a range of possible alternative names, such as the Scottish Not So Greens or the Say Nothing Party (SNP 2.0), are available according to the Electoral Commission website.

The Scottish Government’s recent budget, backed by Scottish Green MSPs, included an £189 million cut to building new warm and energy efficient homes, an £80m cut to rail services and a £63m cut to the Future Transport Fund which rolls out electric car chargers, hydrogen and other infrastructure. The party has also previously suggested it could fight the next general election on the sole issue of independence.

Cllr Dijkstra-Downie said:

“The Scottish Greens seem to be experiencing something of an existential crisis. They’ve changed colour to something a lot dirtier and a good bit more desperate.

“They must be the only green party anywhere in the world to abandon its traditions and swap environmentalism for nationalism. We shouldn’t forget that in the first year they were in government, source emissions rose. Since then, Patrick Harvie and co. have taken to backing brutal climate cuts and whitewashing a string of SNP failures.

"While they reflect on that, Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue calling for a national insulation programme to bring down eye-watering energy bills, as well as better public transport, more electric vehicle chargers and for communities to be put in charge of where and when buses go.

“If you want a party that will stand up for the environment and tackle the climate crisis, then back the Scottish Liberal Democrats.”