Greens aim for seats on half of Scottish councils

The Scottish Greens are aiming to win seats on more than half of Scotland's councils in this year's local authority elections.

Green councillor Melanie Main. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Party chiefs believe having just one or two members on an authority could “make all the difference” in terms of policies.

In the 2012 local government elections, the Scottish Greens got 14 councillors elected, giving it representatives on five out of Scotland’s 32 councils.

The party has seen a surge in membership in the aftermath of the 2014 independence referendum, and in the 2016 Holyrood elections it saw its number of MSPs rise from two to six.

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Melanie Main, co-convener of the Association of Scottish Green Councillors, said they were “confident of some real breakthroughs”.

She added: “Our campaign plans are already well-advanced, with most of our candidates in place.

“Our aim is get onto the majority of Scotland’s councils, where even just one or two Green councillors will make all the difference.”