THE SCOTTISH Greens have made clear there will be no pact or coalition with any of the other pro-Remain parties in Scotland.
South of the border, the Green Party of England and Wales entered into an agreement with the LibDems and pro-independence Plaid Cymru to give voters a “Remain choice”.
In more than 40 seats in England and in 11 Welsh constituencies, only one of the three parties will put up a candidate.
Professor John Curtice says it could deprive the Tories of half a dozen MPs.
The pact, called Unite to Remain, which will benefit the LibDems the most, is led by the former MP Heidi Allen, who said next month’s vote was all about Brexit.
READ MORE: Lesley Riddoch: Why the Greens should think twice before standing in this election
“We are putting party politics aside in the interest of our country and [we have] cemented a cross-party arrangement whereby Remain-voting parties in England and Wales are working together to back one Remain candidate.”
There has seemingly been little enthusiasm for a pact between the pro-Remain parties here.
Scottish Green sources say they plan on fielding at least 20 candidates in this election.
Currently, members in Perth and North Perthshire are voting on whether to stand against the SNP’s Pete Wishart, where he’s defending a majority of just 21.
READ MORE: Scottish Greens focus on climate crisis in General Election campaign
Wishart has said that will only benefit the Tories: “The last time the Greens contested [Perth and North Perthshire] they got over 1000 votes. Our independence comrades know that they possibly can’t win here.
“The Greens ‘bete noire’, one Murdo Fraser will be raising one for the Greens tonight.”
Writing in today’s The National, the Scottish Green’s co-leader, Lorna Slater says the calls for her party to stand aside are “absurdly entitled”.
She writes: “This is the first General Election since the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gave us just a decade to reverse global warming.
“Since then, how many political parties in Scotland have woken up to the fact that we need to start the transition away from fossil fuels right now, to create jobs and protect our future? How many of them are prepared to significantly realign our economy to address the biggest crisis facing us?
“None of them, apart from the Greens. That’s why it is absurdly entitled to question why we are standing now, of all times.
“Resistance is necessary.”
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