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Greens in Edinburgh congratulate Alison Johnstone on her election as Parliament Presiding Officer

Alison Johnstone’s election comes on top of a record result for the Scottish Greens and is a further sign of how central Green politics now is to Scottish political debate

Edinburgh Green branch has  congratulated Alison Johnstone MSP on her election as the Scottish Parliament’s first Green Presiding Officer.

Although Alison will now have to suspend party affiliation for the parliamentary term, she will continue to represent people throughout Lothian and manage casework.

Her election comes on top of a record result for the Greens in both Scotland and Lothian last week and is a further sign of how central Green politics now is to Scottish political debate.

Newly-elected Green MSP for Lothian Lorna Slater said:

I congratulate Alison on her election, and I know that she will be an even-handed moderator as Parliament addresses the pressing challenges that Scotland faces over the next five years.

As only the second woman Presiding Officer, Alison is also well-placed to break new ground in defining the role of a PO in this more diverse parliament. I am confident that she will use it to increase the reach of Parliament and make it even more welcoming for people of all backgrounds.

She added:

With the COP26 global climate summit coming to Scotland later in the year it will be good to have someone with strong Green credentials representing our parliament. Throw into the mix the forthcoming independence referendum and it’s clearly going to be a challenging role at a challenging time.