Green MSP Robin Harper to contest seat at General Election

Published on Tuesday 24 November 2009 13:35

BRITAIN'S first Green parliamentarian is to contest the next general election as the party tries to break through at Westminster, it was announced today.

Robin Harper has been selected to stand for Edinburgh East just over 10 years since he won the first election to the new Scottish Parliament.

The Lothians MSP said: "I have served at Holyrood for more than a decade now, and I concluded that the time was right to pass on the baton to other colleagues in the Scottish Parliament.

"But the Westminster Parliament remains the last level of government without a Green presence.

"It is a parliament that has seen its reputation battered, quite rightly, as decades of bad behaviour by the old boys' club have been exposed.

"It remains remote and out of touch on the issues which matter to people – on quality of life, sustainability and an economy that provides for all."

Edinburgh East's serving Labour MP, Gavin Strang, is stepping down at the next general election, which has to be held by June.

The Green Party took 17% of the vote in the area at the European elections earlier this year, beating the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.

Green MEP Caroline Lucas hopes to take the Brighton Pavilion seat at Westminster and the party hopes for good results in Norwich, London and Oxford.