Lothian elected Britain’s first Green Parliamentarian Robin Harper in the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999 and has had a Green MSP ever since, with Alison taking over in 2011. The 50,000 regional votes cast for the Greens is by far the highest-ever and the 12.7% vote share surpasses the 12.0% secured in 2003 to make it the biggest Green vote ever in Scotland.
Green MSP Alison Johnstone said:
“This has been an election like no other, not just for the pandemic context but also the bewildering array of messages about tactical voting bombarding voters. Amidst all that I am delighted that the positive, optimistic Green campaign has reached many more people than ever before and I look forward to getting down to work next week. There is no time to waste.”
New Green MSP, engineer Lorna Slater added:
“I am thrilled to have been elected here in Lothian and can’t thank enough everyone who supported the Greens in record numbers. We have so much to get on with – on housing reform, on creating Green jobs, protecting our natural environment, dealing with the climate emergency and so much more. So I can’t wait to get working with Alison and all my other new Green MSP colleagues.”