Readers' Letters: Harvie fails to impress on Green delivery in interview

Patrick Harvie’s ego runs through Conor Matchett’s interview (20 August). Not only is he proud of his and co-leader Laura Slater’s achievements in government, he is also confident that the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Greens will continue to deliver for the people of Scotland.

Patrick Harvie was unwise to attack his political allies, believes reader (Picture: John Devlin)

Mr Harvie, however, provides no evidence of either achievements, delivery or examples of future new joint initiatives with the SNP, nor does he apologise for the Green leadership’s catastrophic failure in policy implementation over the last year, delivering virtually no environmental policy change.

Astonishingly, Mr Harvie reserves his deepest criticism not for his political opponents but towards SNP MSPs Fergus Ewing and Kate Forbes and former Scottish Greens leader Robin Harper. The latter left the party citing its failure to prioritise environmental issues over policies like gender recognition reform and abortion clinic buffer zones. It’s clear Mr Harvie feels that Mr Harper failed to adapt to a progressive agenda with independence at its heart. Mr Harper claims that the Green Party has sold out its core values to the extent that “it has lost the plot”, abandoning its roots as a radical pressure group. It needed to cooperate with the UK parliament, listen more and shout less, he claims.

Mr Matchett could have pressed on the Climate Change Committee’s damning accusation that the Scottish Government’s climate change targets are in danger of becoming meaningless as they lack a clear delivery plan or why, according to the Lib Dems, 47 million cubic metres of sewage were allowed to be discharged into our waterways in 2022.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Belief vs abuse

Scotland on Sunday columnist Euan McColm compares comedian Graham Linehan's experience with Leith Arches to Joanna Cherry's with the Stand (20 August).

But there is a difference between expressing beliefs in parliamentary language, and the kind of abuse Mr Linehan hands out to those of us who stand up for fairness and dignity for trans people.

Beliefs for or against trans equality are protected under the Equality Act; abuse is not. Well done to Leith Arches for saying no to it.

Tim Hopkins, Director, Equality Network, Edinburgh

Careful, Kezia

Somewhat amazing comments from Kezia Dugdale made at the Edinburgh Festival, where she said that she would rather live in an independent Scotland in a progressive EU, than a Boris Brexit UK.

Two points spring to mind; firstly, many serious commentators point out than an independent Scotland may take a long time to enter the EU. Secondly, independence is not just for Christmas, it would still be there in 10, 20, 30 years, when Boris would be long gone, and the Tories would be out of power. All in all, shallow, ill-thought-out remarks from her!

William Ballantine, Bo'ness, West Lothian

Funny that

News of further delays in delivery for the Ferguson shipyard ferry comes as no surprise as it is already five years late and there could well be problems with the sea trials as much of the vessel’s certification is now out of date. Ironically, no such delay in paying the bonuses for the Ferguson shipyard’s management team...

Dennis Forbes Grattan, Bucksburn, Aberdeen

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