Parliament votes to back key Scottish Green policies on rail and school meals
This afternoon, the Scottish Parliament voted to support universal free school meals and scrap peak rail fares, two key Scottish Green policies that were secured by the party in its role in government.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie said:
“This has been an important day for the Scottish Parliament, and it was telling that the rest of the opposition have no ideas of their own, so spent the afternoon arguing for policies that we secured by the Scottish Greens as part of the Bute House Agreement..
“We cannot cut the number of cars on our roads by hiking up rail fares in a climate crisis, and nor can we tackle child poverty by backtracking on universal free school meals. If we are to create a fairer and greener Scotland, then we need to be investing in public transport and supporting families on the frontline of the cost of living crisis.
“The Scottish Government faces political choices and has opted to keep handouts for big business while asking rail users to pay more and breaking promises to families with primary school age children.”
“These were bold and ambitious policies that were secured by the Scottish Greens. They are reflective of our priorities and of the change that Scotland needs. I am proud of our record in introducing them.
Mr Harvie added:
“But just voting for policies in a debate is not enough. All parties have a responsibility to talk about how they would fund them. Labour and the Tories have both promised tax cuts and higher public spending and offered opposition for its own sake.
“The Scottish Greens have always supported progressive taxation on the wealthiest people and polluting companies to support the services we all rely on. That will be at the heart of our budget proposals for a greener Scotland, and we hope to see support from other parties.”