Blame game as Scottish Greens miss out on ‘green wave’ across Europe

The failure of the Scottish Greens to elect an MEP despite the “green wave” which swept Europe and saw seven Green MEPs elected in England, is down to its candidate, according to party sources.

Maggie Chapman missed out despite a 'green wave' across Europe

Maggie Chapman, co-convenor of the Scottish Greens, was not elected to Brussels after the party secured just 8 per cent of the vote in the European Parliament elections.

She had previously been the Scottish Green’s lead candidate in the 2014 European Parliament elections but was not elected and she failed to be elected to Holyrood in the 2016 elections although she was the party’s lead candidate for the North-East region and her party increased its number of MSPs from two to six.

Yesterday party insiders said it was time that Chapman stood aside.

“This is the third winnable election she has failed to win for us, so questions have to be asked about why she is constantly given the chance to stand,” said a party source. “She looks good on paper but it doesn’t translate to campaigning and winning votes.”

Another member said: “She’s done her bit, fought hard, but has failed three times now. We need to be selecting someone else to stand, to give someone else a chance.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Greens said: “Our candidates are chosen democratically by the party membership.

“We are disappointed that we didn’t elect Scotland’s first Green MEP this time.

“There were a unique set of circumstances for this election but we are pleased with the campaign we ran, with a message of hope to stop Brexit and tackle the climate crisis.”