NEWS RELEASE – Community campaigners star in Green broadcast

The Scottish Green Party have today launched their party election broadcast for the 2011 Holyrood poll on Facebook and Twitter, 24 hours before its first airing on Monday. The film, entitled ‘Because’, features party supporters and members who share the Greens’ vision for Scotland, as well local campaigners telling how Greens have supported their efforts to protect their homes, community hospitals, local schools and green spaces.

The film features 26 speakers from across the Scottish regions, including former BBC Scotland correspondent Louise Batchelor, land rights campaigner Andy Wightman, artist David Shrigley, and Michael Forbes, who was threatened with eviction by Donald Trump. The broadcast also features music by Edinburgh band White Heath from their forthcoming debut album “Take No Thought For Tomorrow”.

Patrick Harvie said:

“During the last Parliament we worked with community campaigns across Scotland, from the North Kelvin Meadow group in Glasgow to the Menie residents threatened with eviction by Donald Trump. Greens supported local hospital campaigners, fought to keep schools open, and worked to protect the green spaces communities rely on. We could not be more pleased to see so many people prepared to come out now and say why they in turn are giving their second vote to the Greens in May.”

The broadcast is available on Vimeo and on YouTube.

It will be aired first on April 11 at the following times: BBC 1 at 22.35, BBC 2 at 23.30 and STV at 22.40. The radio version is on BBC Radio Scotland at 15:55.

The film was directed, shot and edited by Simon Hipkins and James Alcock from Macmillan Media.

The 26 people featured in the Scottish Greens’ party election broadcast are, in order of appearance:

1. Merle Ferguson, from Ardentinny
2. Elanor Gordon, from Invergordon, filmed in Stirling
3. Rob Kay, from Kilsyth, Green list candidate for Central region
4. Marij van Helmond, Dunoon
5. Emily Freeman, Edinburgh
6. Idem Lewis, Glasgow
7. Anne Widdop, director of a small company in Edinburgh
8. Andy Wightman, land rights campaigner and land value tax expert
9. Douglas Peacock, North Kelvin Meadow campaign, Glasgow
10. Helen Houston, Moffat
11. Michael Forbes, threatened with eviction for Donald Trump’s development at Menie, Aberdeenshire
12. Dorothy Bothwell, Friends of Union Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen
13. Kim Suprajirawatananon, Glasgow
14. Dominic Hinde, Edinburgh
15. Gordon Cowtan, Fintry
16. Louise Batchelor, former BBC Scotland environment correspondent, Kinross
17. Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Edinburgh
18. Veronika Tudhope, postal worker and active in CWU, Green list candidate for Central region, Kilmarnock
19. Jim Evans-Ewing, Glasgow
20. David Shrigley, Glasgow artist
21. Callum Whiteford, Edinburgh
22. Simon Hackin, founder of Greenworks, an Edinburgh wood reuse and recycling enterprise
23. Sarah Holliday, from Tiree, filmed in Edinburgh
24. Graeme Holbrook, Moffat
25. Jack Hunter, Edinburgh
26. Emma Pattinson, Edinburgh
27. Dominic Hinde (again)
28. Kim Suprajirawatananon (again)
29. Jim Evans-Ewing (again)

The track featured is “Sunday In Fragments”. For more on White Heath, visit them on Myspace.

The Scottish Green Party’s three key election campaign pledges are as follows:

- No fees – keep tuition free
Education benefits us all, not just students, and must be based on the ability to learn, not to pay.

- Fairer taxes – invest in public services
Only Greens are offering an alternative to the cuts to public services: investment built on revenue from big business and the better off.

- Cut your bills – insulate every home
We would insulate every home for free, boost jobs and tackle climate change.

Newsnight Scotland interview

This month Newsnight Scotland has been asking each of the main party leaders into the studio in turn, for a one-to-one interview looking ahead to the Holyrood election. Tonight, it was my turn!

End of Life Assistance Bill

A little delayed, but here is my speech in the Stage 1 debate on Margo MacDonald’s End of Life Assitance Bill which took place on December 1st.

I was disappointed that there were only sixteen votes in favour, but I don’t think that this will be the last time Parliament debates proposals to allow people to make their own choices as they face the end of life. Margo is due huge credit for working hard to develop proposals and bring them for debate.

Video clip – Scotland Bill debated at Holyrood

This week the Scottish Parliament debated the new Scotland Bill, which has been published by the UK Government and which MPs will ultimately decide on. Here’s my contribution to the debate:

Andy Wightman’s inspiring speech at SGP conf

Andy Wightman speaking at Scottish Green Party Conference 2010 from Scottish Greens on Vimeo.

Student protest comes to Holyrood

I spoke today to the demonstrators outside Holyrood who were protesting against the cuts to education and the Tory/Liberal coalition’s decision to treble tuition fees, which is bound to have a knock-on effect in Scotland.

It was a busy crowd, but you can just about see my wee baldy head behind a flag while I’m speaking!

The students who are protesting throughout the UK are doing something immensely important, and it goes way beyond the short term impact of the headlines. By turning education into a mere market commodity, the UK Government is causing immeasurable damage to our society which will be felt for generations to come. The anger being shown about this is entirely justified, and I hope that over the coming months it continues to be channelled into peaceful but forceful campaigning. I’m proud to support those who are leading that effort.

Video clip – debate on tax powers

Back in 1997 when the Scottish Parliament was finally being created, one of the key decisions was whether to include any taxation powers. In the referendum, around two thirds of the electorate voted to give Holyrood some limited tax power. That power has never been used yet, but there was always an expectation that it still existed in practice, not just in theory.

Now the current Government has been forced to admit to Parliament that the power can no longer be used, as the IT systems which operate it have not been kept up to date. Here’s my contribution to Holyrood’s debate about that admission:

Human rights discussion on Politics Now

Last night I was in the STV studio for Politics Now, where the debate was on human rights, and the court ruling that the UK Government must lift the blanket ban on prisoners voting.

Here’s the debate between myself and Bill Aitken of the Tories, with Bernard Ponsonby keeping order.

Video clip – yesterday’s FMQ on deepwater oil drilling

Debate clip – drugs strategy

Here’s my contribution to last week’s debate on the Government’s drugs strategy. I knew that I was going to be taking a very different line from the rest of the speakers, and unfortunately Richard Simpson has just finished his speech by welcoming the mood of consensus which had characterised the debate up to that point… which should explain my opening line…