Scottish Greens will push SNP on tax reform, vows Harvie

THE Scottish Greens will push the Scottish Government beyond its '˜timid' approach to local tax reform if it secures greater representation in Holyrood, co-convener Patrick Harvie has said.

Patrick Harvie is due to speak at the Scottish Greens' spring conference in Edinburgh this weekend. Picture: John Devlin

The party will pledge to put the council tax, housing, fracking and devolved powers at the forefront of its Holyrood election campaign during its spring conference in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Speaking exactly two months before the election, Mr Harvie is expected to say: “We’ve been telling voters that a better Scotland needs a bolder Holyrood, but nobody’s been making that case more clearly for us than the SNP.

“Ahead in the polls and with nine years’ experience in government, they still seem set to make only the most timid of changes to the local tax system. They need to be pushed.

“Labour and the Lib Dems aren’t doing much better - how can we leave it to them to hold the SNP to account on an issue like fracking, when they seem to swap policies on it by the week?

“Holyrood needs better, bolder, more coherent opposition than that.

“Greens know that Scotland can be better but we need a bolder Holyrood to make that happen.

“With Green MSPs representing every region of the country, we’ll have the chance to push the Government beyond its safe comfort zone, and win progressive change for Scotland.”

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