Greens on course to oust SNP minister at Holyrood election, party says
Angus Robertson is defending a majority of 4,732 in Edinburgh Central
The Scottish Greens say they are on course to oust a senior SNP minister at the Holyrood election on Thursday.
The party believes it is currently ahead in Edinburgh Central, where the SNP’s Angus Robertson secured a majority of 4,732 in 2021.
Lorna Slater, the Green candidate, branded her opponent “the invisible man” and said he had failed to turn up to multiple hustings.
“We’ve thrown the kitchen sink at this,” she said. “We’ve had multiple teams of volunteers out every night.”
Ross Greer, the Scottish Green co-leader, predicted the result would be “really tight” in the constituency, which has among the highest number of international voters of anywhere in Scotland.
“At this point in time we believe we are ahead, but it is a really, really narrow contest,” he said.
“Folk have a choice. You don’t have to choose between a pretty underwhelming status quo and options that are even worse. You can genuinely vote for a fairer, greener, kinder politics. You can vote for hope.
“And in this constituency, even Labour believe we are ahead. Labour’s targeted letter to voters in this constituency has the classic political bar chart, and their bar chart has the Greens ahead with them in second.”
Mr Greer added: “It is a three-way contest, but we believe, at this point, the Greens are ahead, and it’s Labour in second. I believe that’s what Labour’s returns are showing as well.
“It’s certainly what the bar chart on their letter is showing, that really it’s probably a choice between the Greens and Labour in this constituency.
“It’s a very different constituency to the one that bore its name at the last election. It’s the same name but the boundaries are very, very different. On these boundaries, we’re pretty sure we’re ahead, but it’s narrow between us and Labour at this point certainly.”
He argued voters in Edinburgh Central are “fed up” and want to vote for “something different”.
The Green co-leader also said Mr Robertson had been damaged by the row over a meeting he held with Israeli deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky in 2024.
“I think we can all recognise that Palestine is a motivating issue for a lot of voters,” Mr Greer said.
“You still have a lot of people round here who remember Angus meeting with the Israeli ambassador during a genocide to talk about cultural co-operation and renewable energy etcetera. That still sticks in the craw for a lot of people.
“There’s plenty of things you can say about the Scottish Greens, but our position on Israel-Palestine has been exceptionally consistent. It’s a genocide, we boycott the perpetrators of genocide, that means no engagement with the state of Israel.”
Mr Robertson previously apologised and said the meeting with Ms Grudsky should have been “strictly limited to the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the appalling loss of life in the region”, and further invites would not be accepted.
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