Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater elected first Scottish Greens co-leaders

The Scottish Greens have elected current co-convener MSP Patrick Harvie and party member Lorna Slater as its first co-leaders.

Greens co-convener Maggie Chapman missed out on a co-leader position, as did challengers Guy Ingerson and Graham Kerr.

The results were announced in Leith this afternoon, after the two leaders were voted in by the party’s membership. The party adopted a new constitution at its spring conference meaning it would elect leaders for the first time, replacing the co-convenor position.

The co-leaders will serve a two-year term, leading the Scottish Greens into the next Holyrood election.

Slater, who was co-convener of the Scottish Greens Operations Committee, ran as a Greens candidate in the Leith Walk by-election in April this year, but lost to SNP candidate Rob Munn. She then ran as number two on the Greens European election ticket.

In her election speech, Slater noted: “I'm not a politician. I'm an engineer. But politics needs a different kind of person, we need more women, more ordinary people who work for a living, more disabled people, and that inspired me to get involved myself.”

She said she looked forward to using her expertise in marine renewable energy and manufacturing in the party’s “proposal for a Scottish Green New Deal, ensuring that we take advantage of all the social and economic opportunities that come along with tackling the climate emergency”.

“I’m excited to be elected Co-Leader and look forward to working with Patrick as we head toward our most important election in 2021,” she said.

“Scotland has significant renewable resources such as wind and tidal energy, we have the manufacturing and offshore infrastructure to become a powerhouse of clean energy generation.

“We can ensure everyone lives in a warm home which they can afford to heat and invest in reopening rail links and stations as part of a transport vision fit for the 21st century.

“We already have the skills and resources to transform our economy, tackle the climate emergency and create thousands of quality jobs along the way, and I’ll work to deliver that transformation in the coming years.”

Harvie said he would “continue to lead the fight to transform our economy to put our climate and our communities first” as co-leader.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be elected along with Lorna as one of the Scottish Greens co-leaders,” he said.

“Green voices have never been more important as we face up to the climate emergency. The science is clear - we have just over a decade to transform our economy for the better and avert an existential crisis, but the other parties are happy to carry on with business as usual.”