BUDDING Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay has said the “soundbitey” nature of the Scottish Parliament must end as part of facing up to the threat of the far right.
The Green MSP, who launched her bid to become a co-leader on Friday, has called for more collaboration at Holyrood as a way of seeing off the rise of Reform UK, who according to a poll released last week could become the main opposition.
She insisted both the “soundbitey” and “formulaic” nature of sessions in the Parliament have led to people distrusting politicians and MSPs need to accept that to turn that around, they need to show they can work together amicably.
“There has been a reluctance in successive parliaments for politicians to show who they are as people. It’s very soundbitey, it's very formulaic in some cases,” she told the Sunday National.
She went on: “I think this has been one of those sessions where everybody hasn’t necessarily always worked nicely together. For this final year of Parliament, finding our way through some of the issues that are facing people in the biggest way is an absolute duty for all of us.
“People do respond well when their politicians speak to one another and collaborate and disagree in a way that at least makes everybody feel we’re all trying to make it better. If someone just tuned into FMQs every week, I don’t think they’d think we’re all in there trying to make everything better.
“I think we need to face up to the fact that to restore that trust in our politicians, we need to demonstrate there is a way to work collaboratively.”
Mackay has become a well-known face in the Scottish Parliament having spearheaded the passage of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act last year.
The law – which was only rejected by one MSP – makes it illegal for anti-abortion protests to be staged within 200m of a clinic in Scotland.
She has now thrown her hat in the ring to become a co-leader, insisting she is "happy to work with anyone".
Current co-leader Lorna Slater has also announced she will be running again.
Slater’s fellow co-leader and veteran MSP Patrick Harvie announced last month he would be stepping down from the role after almost 17 years.
It opens the door to a new generation of hopefuls to lead the party and Mackay said she is keen to show the Greens are about more than just climate.
The party marked a victory last week as the SNP Government U-turned to announce peak rail fares would end from September.
“We need to make sure that people understand Green politics is more than just climate and gardening,” she said.
“I really want the Greens to offer that left-wing view and show how left politics makes people’s lives better, and how the right-wing offering doesn’t.
“It’s about making sure people understand that cutting emissions means we want to make their journeys on the buses and train cheaper. It’s not about making it more difficult to get around their local areas.
“And that’s just one tiny bit. I’ve been doing some stuff around the environmental impact of medicines for example and how that interacts with prescribing.
“It’s not very sexy but it does have an impact on people so making those policies easy to understand but also easy for people to follow as to how it makes their lives better is the real thing there to unlock.
“I don’t think we’re unique in that as a party. I think there’s a whole load of parties that can get tied up in technical things that are going on in Parliament and it ends up that no one can understand it except the 129 of us. That's how people lose trust in what’s happening.”
A poll by Survation last week predicted Reform UK are set to form the main opposition at Holyrood behind the SNP with Scottish Labour remaining in third place.
Another reason why Mackay believes support has surged for Reform is from many politicians not interacting enough with their communities.
She believes getting MSPs back to the nuts and bolts of being elected representatives is key to plugging the gap Reform have muscled their way into.
“I think we’ve heard a lot that people are distrustful of their politicians and I think that stems from the public’s desire to have a connection with their elected reps,” she said.
“I think that’s something we’ve potentially gotten away from giving them and Reform are trying to say ‘we’re the good guys, we’re just like you’.
“I grew up in Grangemouth, I do not come from a middle-class community so [I feel I can deliver that] level of interaction and understanding of what people are dealing with on a daily basis.
“I could talk the hind legs off a donkey if I needed to and I think that’s my strength, I would rather be speaking to people out in communities than spending hours in the chamber.
“I think we need to get back to politicians being in their communities and speaking to people about real issues and giving them that alternative.”
