Exclusive:Greens 'very confident' of winning control of Edinburgh and Glasgow councils
The party is hoping to double the number of councillors they have at next year’s local elections.
The Scottish Greens say they are “very confident” they can take control of Scotland’s two biggest councils.
After the party enjoyed success at this year’s Scottish Parliament elections, securing 15 MSPs, they are hoping to continue their winning streak by doubling their numbers at next year’s local government elections.
They also believe they have a chance of becoming the largest party at both Edinburgh and Glasgow city councils.
Speaking to The Scotsman, party co-leader Gillian Mackay said: “We’ve obviously just delivered a record result at Holyrood, doubling the size of the group.
“We then went on to win a by-election in Edinburgh for the local authority.
“We’re focusing on making sure we’ve got candidates across Scotland, and potentially being the biggest party in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“Closer to home for me, I am really keen on delivering a first Scottish Green councillor in Falkirk too.”
She added: “We’re certainly not thinking the job is done, there’s an awful lot of work to do between now and the elections in May.
“We are making sure our volunteers and candidates are out there speaking to communities, speaking to local residents, and building on the track record our councillors have across the country.
“We are very confident and very keen we will be the biggest party in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.”
At the election in May, the party secured four MSPs in Edinburgh, including Lorna Slater MSP winning the Edinburgh Central constituency. In Glasgow, the party won three seats, including Holly Bruce winning Nicola Sturgeon’s former constituency, Glasgow Southside.
The party currently has 11 councillors in Edinburgh and eight councillors in Glasgow.
Ms Mackay said she hopes the party will double its number of councillors to have “at least” 70, but remains “hopeful” they could hit as high as 80 councillors.
As well as hoping for success in the two biggest cities, the Greens say they will be able to win in councils all across the country, including in the south, the north-east, the Highlands, and other parts of the central belt.
She said this will go some way to realising the hopes of controlling Edinburgh and Glasgow city councils.
Ms Mackay also believes the party’s campaigning against hyperscale AI data centres will help boost their vote.
There has been an influx in planning applications for these data centres across Scotland in recent months, with the Greens calling for a moratorium on all planning applications until a national strategy is set out. The Scottish Parliament has agreed to pause decisions on data centres for a year.
Ms Mackay said: “I think data centre applications could be a large part of our local campaign.
“I know in Falkirk, where I am, the candidates and our MSPs are getting very involved with the communities who are trying to fight these applications.
“I’m sure our other council candidates will be doing the same as we head towards the elections.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.