GILLIAN Mackay has launched a bid to become a co-leader of the Scottish Greens.
The backbench MSP, who recently passed a law banning protest outside abortion clinics, will throw her hat in the ring to replace Patrick Harvie.
Lorna Slater, currently co-leader of the party, has also announced she will run again for the position.
Announcing her candidacy outside the People's Palace in Glasgow on Friday, Mackay told reporters: "Over the last four years I've shown that I can deliver on many of the campaigns that I decide to take up and bring people together behind them: from safe access zones to rolling back the decision to cut school buses in North Lanarkshire, there are loads of other examples as well and I hope that people can see that I can get things done and bring people together."
NEW: Scottish Greens MSP @GillianMacMSP has announced her bid to become co-leader of the party. Quite on the nose that the press call was done at Glasgow Green 🔽 pic.twitter.com/0f5Naxh8Ko
— James Walker (@James_L_Walker) May 9, 2025
The Scottish Greens are currently engaged in what appears to be a bitter feud between members and the party leadership.
Current co-leader Patrick Harvie, who is stepping down in the summer, even hit out at the "factionalism and toxicity" in one of his final speeches at the party's conference last month.
It comes after he previously warned members against "anonymous briefings" to the media and "insulting other members".
Asked about the infighting, Mackay said she wasn't "particularly concerned about it" herself.
"I feel like I get on with the vast majority of people across the party and I hope that’s part of the appeal going into the leadership elections," she said.
"But it’s very clear that we need to come together as a party a year out from the elections and make sure that we not only deliver a good election result for the party but great things for the communities across Scotland that we represent.
"I hope people can see that I can get things done and bring people together.”
There has also been speculation that she could be running on a joint ticket with fellow MSP Ross Greer.
But Mackey denied this, telling reporters: "Whether people like it or not, what they see is what they get with my leadership bid. I don't even know if Ross has made up his mind as to whether he's running."
The Greens were set to maintain their standing in the Scottish Parliament in a poll published earlier this week, with a survey from True North putting the party on course to win eight seats.
The party won that number at the last election but its Holyrood group numbers seven because MSP Alison Johnstone was chosen as Presiding Officer and had to give up her party affiliation.
Mackay has been vocal on the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery, having grown up nearby and representing the Central Scotland region in Parliament.
She was first elected to Holyrood in 2021 and did not serve in the Scottish Government under the deal struck between the Scottish Greens and the SNP, the Bute House Agreement.
That brought Harvie and Slater into ministerial positions before they were sacked towards the end of Humza Yousaf's premiership.
