Corbyn: Harvie says Greens will represent left in Scotland
Patrick Harvie has today congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on his victory in the Labour leadership contest in the face of attacks from the party's right wing. However, Harvie remains doubtful of Labour's ability to win back votes in Scotland, as the Scottish Greens prepare for a campaign to represent the left voice in the Holyrood election in 2016.
Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow and Co-convenor of the Scottish Greens said:
"Jeremy Corbyn is due huge congratulations for winning this election in the face of relentless attacks from Labour's right wing. The debate, enthusiasm and ideas his campaign has invigorated have been missing from the Labour Party for far too long. Many of those ideas have long been held by the Greens, from sharing society's wealth more fairly and ending vicious austerity, to more investment in sustainable jobs and the return of public services to public hands.
"However, all the signs suggest that those who hold power behind the scenes within Labour will do anything to stop the party from from returning to its roots, even with a capable, principled leader in place. It remains to be seen whether Corbyn can revive his party's democracy before his position is undermined by those who have lost the democratic debate.
"For all his merits, Jeremy Corbyn has had little to say about how he would support a stronger voice for Scotland, and Labour north of the border is struggling to reconnect with the voters it lost during its cynical campaign against independece. That seems unlikely to change in eight months before the Holyrood election, and the Scottish Greens will be campaigning with our new membership to build a strong left opposition in the next Scottish Parliament."