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| Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay elected Scottish Greens co-leaders | Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay elected Scottish Greens co-leaders |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay are the new Scottish Green leaders | Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay are the new Scottish Green leaders |
| MSPs Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay have been elected as the new co-leaders of the Scottish Greens. | MSPs Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay have been elected as the new co-leaders of the Scottish Greens. |
| The pair replace Patrick Harvie, who did not seek re-election, and Lorna Slater, who was narrowly defeated in the leadership contest. | |
| Harvie was Holyrood's longest-serving leader after 17 years in the role, while Slater had held the post alongside him since 2019. | Harvie was Holyrood's longest-serving leader after 17 years in the role, while Slater had held the post alongside him since 2019. |
| Greer and Mackay also saw off a challenge from Green member Dominic Ashmole, who unsuccessfully stood for the party in the 2024 general election. | Greer and Mackay also saw off a challenge from Green member Dominic Ashmole, who unsuccessfully stood for the party in the 2024 general election. |
| The contest was decided in a ballot of 950 Scottish Green members. | The contest was decided in a ballot of 950 Scottish Green members. |
| Mackay won in the first round with 34% of the vote. Greer then defeated Slater in the second round by 317 votes to 304. | |
| Aged 31, Greer is the youngest party leader at Holyrood. The West Scotland MSP also holds the record as the youngest ever MSP after being elected aged 21 in 2016. | |
| Mackay, 34, has been MSP for Central Scotland since 2021. She successfully spearheaded the bill creating buffer zones at abortion clinics. | |
| Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie previously led the Scottish Greens together | |
| Mackay said the election result marked a "generational shift" in the leadership of the party. | Mackay said the election result marked a "generational shift" in the leadership of the party. |
| She told a news conference in Edinburgh: "Together, Ross and I will lead with courage and listen with intent, with members at the heart of our movement." | She told a news conference in Edinburgh: "Together, Ross and I will lead with courage and listen with intent, with members at the heart of our movement." |
| Citing the cost of living and climate crises, Greer said Scotland was "rigged" in favour of the super-rich, big polluters and "greedy landlords". | |
| He said: "To fix this country that's who we need to take on and that's who we need to defeat. | |
| "We will be the party brave enough to take on the rich and powerful. To take on these elites." | |
| Greer also vowed to take on "bigots and the conmen" directing anger at the most vulnerable people in society. | |
| The result is a blow for Slater, who served alongside Harvie as the first green ministers in the UK after signing a power-sharing deal with the SNP in 2021. | |
| That deal collapsed in April last year, leading to Humza Yousaf's resignation as first minister. | |
| Harvie, Holyrood's longest-serving party leader, announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election. | |
| At his conference speech in April, he hit out at a "small minority" within the Greens who he claimed were damaging the party and its reputation. | |
| Ashmole was eliminated in the first round of the contest after winning 66 votes. | |
| The new Green leaders have just nine months in charge before Holyrood elections in May, with the party hoping to better its record return of eight MSPs in 2021. |