Three Green councillors in Glasgow and one of the party’s top candidates have defected to Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party, dealing a blow to the Scottish Greens ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections.
Ellie Gomersall, who was second on the party’s regional list for Glasgow, cited the Greens’ voting record on budgets as a key reason for leaving. She said the party had “voted through budgets which have cut funding” in recent years. She is joined by councillors Dan Hutchison, Seonad Hoy and Leodhas Massie, who become the first elected representatives for Your Party in Scotland.
Ms Gomersall urged other Greens to follow suit, stating: “Where every single one of the existing Holyrood parties is complicit in passing on brutal cuts to public services, it’s clear to me that only Your Party can be taken seriously to stand firm against austerity.”
Councillor Dan Hutchison, who represents the Govan ward, criticised the Scottish Greens’ record, saying: “Their MSPs have their heads deep in the sand, voting to cut budgets year after year and enabling the largest sell-off of public land to the private sector.” He described Your Party as “the largest step toward unity that I’ve seen on the left in my lifetime.”
The defections come as Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana prepares to hold a rally in Glasgow on Friday. The party’s early months were marred by an apparent split between Ms Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn over membership rules, but Ms Sultana later backed away from legal action “for the sake of the party.”
A Scottish Greens spokesperson expressed disappointment, saying: “We thank them for the work they have done as Green councillors. Scottish Greens have always stood up for people and the planet in Glasgow and beyond.” The spokesperson noted a surge in support, with record polling and over 1,200 new members in recent months.
