Lorna Slater fears conversion therapy U-turn as Greens leader says independence strategy 'not going to work'

Speaking exclusively to The Scotsman from the election campaign trail in Leith, Ms Slater said people were “worried” about the prospect of more policy climbdowns under newly elected leader John Swinney.

The ban on conversion therapy was a central part of the Bute House Agreement, which brought the Scottish Greens into Government in 2021, but collapsed in April.

Conversion therapy is the controversial practice of attempting to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The Scottish Government says it is committed to stopping the “damaging and destructive” practice due to the trauma and harm it causes.

However, Mr Swinney recently said he would reflect on the findings of a review into gender services for children, conducted by Dr Hilary Cass. According to Dr Cass, medics are concerned that if the ban is introduced, they could be prosecuted for suggesting talking therapies for people who come to them with issues of gender identity.

Ms Slater told The Scotsman: “It’s clear that the SNP are now going to backtrack on things like tackling the climate crisis. Are they also going to backtrack on things like the ban on conversion therapy? I think that has people worried.”

The Greens co-leader made the comments after the Scottish Government announced its on installing wood-burning stoves in new build homes, which came into effect on April 1, was now under review.

Deputy First Minister and MSP for Sky, Lochaber and Badenoch Kate Forbes has been an outspoken critic of the proposed ban due to the fact that many rural and island constituents do not have access to the main gas supply. 

Ms Slater said: “That whole issue has been wildly misrepresented. Passive equivalent houses and passive houses do not require external heating systems, and therefore it doesn’t make sense to install them. There was never a problem with a home owner installing such a thing if they wanted to. It just isn’t required to heat the home.

“In order to tackle the climate crisis, the Scottish Government needs to follow through on what we started in the Bute House Agreement.”

Ms Slater added: “The Scottish Greens are very concerned about the potential for U turns and changes in direction on things like what we need to do to upgrade Scotland’s homes, and the presumption against oil and gas. We need the Scottish Government to be steadfast and take the right action for climate.

“We know that we need to finish exploiting the fields that are currently in operation in the North Sea, but once they’re done, that has to be the end of it.”

Equalities minister and MSP for Glasgow Kelvin Kaukab Stewart said: “The Scottish Government remains committed to ending conversion practices. We are currently analysing responses to our consultation.”

The Scottish Greens recently announced they would be standing a record number of candidates at the general election. Votes for the Greens are likely to impact the SNP, splitting the pro-independence vote. A recent YouGov poll found the SNP could fall from 43 seats at Westminster to just 11, and Labour would become the largest party in Scotland.

Ms Slater said: “I’m not remotely concerned about having more Scottish Green candidates standing in more places in Scotland, meaning more people get to vote for the Scottish Greens.

“The Scottish people have sent a pro-independence majority of Scottish MPs to Parliament at Westminster over and over again, and has it made the Tories and Labour recognise our democratic mandate for a new referendum? No, it hasn’t. It’s clearly not the route and it’s not going to work.

“The Tories and the Labour party have decided on an anti-democratic and I’ll say cowardly stance, because I think they know that if they allowed a referendum now, they would lose.”

The SNP’s existing position is that winning a majority of seats at the general election would be a mandate for a second independence referendum, with Mr Swinney saying he is focused on building support for separation. 

Support for independence is higher among Scots than support for the SNP. A poll by Savanta for The Scotsman published on Friday found 48 per cent of Scots back leaving the UK, excluding don’t knows, compared with 33 per cent of Scots who would vote for the SNP if a general election was held tomorrow.

Ms Slater said: “The way that we get another Scottish Independence referendum is we continue to grow that ground support. 

“Independence has hovered at about 50 per cent. We need to continue to tell a really good story about why an independent Scotland inside the EU can be a much better place for us all to live, and the Scottish Greens will keep doing that.”

This week’s Savanta poll showed, on a proportional regional list vote, showed support for the Greens dropping to 10 per cent (-1) from the previous poll in early May.

The Greens are unlikely to win any Scottish seats at the election, but Ms Slater said: “It'll be really interesting to see how the ending of the Bute House Agreement affects the people’s perceptions of the Scottish Greens and our vote share.

“Our polling has been increasing steadily for years as people understand that we are the only voice for climate action. We are consistent in what we’ve been saying about climate justice and social justice, and those things really matter to people.”