With Ian Blackford on the ropes over his backing of sex pest Patrick Grady, now would be a good time for the First Minister to get in front of the cameras and actually say something. Maybe try to explain why a bunch of her own party’s MPs were caught clapping in support of a colleague suspended for sexual harassment. Not so.
Instead, she’s jetted off to Italy for a few days in the sunshine to attend the Global Women Leaders’ Summit, where she’ll talk about “protecting women’s rights, driving gender equality & tackling climate change”. Arriving in Bellagio via a flight which pumps out approximately 200 kg CO2…
No doubt Guido won’t be the only one to spot the problem here. In October 2021, Green Party co-leader – and Sturgeon’s own Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity – tweeted this just before COP26:
It is possible to get from Rome to Glasgow by train, world leaders could have decided to do this. They didn't. This is exactly what I mean. We need our leadership to *change* how they do things. pic.twitter.com/RQIxf2QS3B
— Lorna Slater (@lornaslater) October 31, 2021
“We need our leadership to *change* how they do things.” How’s that going? Well, the leader of her own government certainly didn’t get to Bellagio by bus.
Exactly what Sturgeon plans to say at the summit is anyone’s guess. Perhaps someone will ask her how she’ll “protect women’s rights” when her own government is now removing the words “women” and “girls” from medical advice leaflets. Or maybe it’s worth questioning how she’ll do anything to sway global climate policy when international relations aren’t even in the gift of Holyrood. Either way, at least it’s currently 26 degrees in Bellagio, although thunderstorms are forecast for later today…
Yesterday, Scottish Government minister Lorna Slater had the sort of loony media showing Guido almost misses from the Corbyn era of Labour. The minister for “Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity” went on TV to argue that the party in coalition with the SNP still back pulling out of NATO, in spite of the Ukraine war, because of the organisation’s “first strike nuclear attack” policy. While calling for withdrawal from NATO, Slater argued she wants Scotland to go independent so they can be more internationalist…
Slater also put in an incredible showing on the issue of getting rid of nuclear weapons, during which she made a prime argument why nuclear weapons are a military deterrence without realising it. So just to recap, the Scottish government is currently made up of a first minister who wants to spark WW3 and ministers who want to leave NATO. Keeping up?
Scottish Greens’ co-leader Lorna Slater is set to be forced into another embarrassing U-turn, delaying Scotland’s Bottle and Can deposit scheme despite promising to implement the programme in the party’s manifesto. What excuse can they possibly have now they’re in government?
The scheme – which requires shops to install recycling machines and charge a 20p deposit on every can and bottle – was due to be launched in July next year, three years after it was originally unveiled. Yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet was told that the scheme will be postponed until either March or October 2023 and Slater will confirm this in Holyrood today. Bottled it.
This U-turn has caused a huge upset amongst Greenpeace tree huggers who mocked Slater and the Scottish Green Party on Twitter.
This isn’t the first time Scottish Greens have U-turned on manifesto pledges. In September the Scottish Greens were forced into a humiliating U-turn after they failed to halt the construction of large scale waste incinerators despite promising to do so in their manifesto. Surprisingly it seems the Greens are just about managing to avoid suffering Clegg’s popularity death since entering government…
Co-conspirators will no doubt be blithely unaware of the existence of Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater, although she finally managed to capture Guido’s attention yesterday when slamming the PM for flying from the G20 to COP. Lorna argues that he could have taken the train and set an example, despite the fact the G20 was in Italy, and COP is in Glasgow. When people pointed out this unfortunate reality of inconvenient geography mixed with a lack of teleportation, Lorna doubled down:
It is possible to get from Rome to Glasgow by train, world leaders could have decided to do this. They didn't. This is exactly what I mean. We need our leadership to *change* how they do things. pic.twitter.com/RQIxf2QS3B
— Lorna Slater (@lornaslater) October 31, 2021
Clearly for the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, a 28 hour journey involving four trains, three metro systems and five overground connections is a good use of time…
The problem for Lorna is that in 2019 she herself tweeted she was in Brussels airport on her way to Sweden to promote environmental tidal energy.
In Brussels airport on my way to Sweden as part of my job in #tidalenergy #tidalpower Is this the last time I'll get to use my passport in the EU queue? Curses to #Brexit. I love being part of the EU. I will do everything I can think of to work for a Scotland in Europe. pic.twitter.com/02Fv2Ib37p
— Lorna Slater (@lornaslater) March 27, 2019
According to Lorna’s logic, Guido is outraged she didn’t set an example by taking the 36-hour train from Glasgow Central via Euston, London St Pancras, Amsterdam and Berlin to Stockholm Central.
How will anyone be able to trust the Scottish Greens again?
Sturgeon welcomed Scottish Green Party co-Leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater to Bute House this afternoon to announce the full details of their new power-sharing agreement. A copy of the agreement is also now available on the Scottish Government’s website. Two Green MSPs will become ministers, whilst the Greens have committed to supporting the SNP on confidence votes and annual budgets provided there is “appropriate funding for the shared policy programme“.
Sturgeon said:
“The Agreement also sets out the processes of co-operation and consultation that will enable a stable parliamentary majority for the delivery of the Scottish Government’s legislative and policy programme…It recognises that business as usual is not good enough in the times we are living through. It grasps that – out of great challenge – a better world and a better Scotland is capable of being born…it understands that achieving it will take boldness, courage and a will to do things differently. That is what we offer.”
Two minority parties propping each other up…
