Can Scottish Greens solve their race problem?
A vanishingly small number of Green candidates in Scotland come from an ethnic minority background - how can we fix that?
Criticism of the Scottish Greens is not novel. As the most radical party in the Scottish Parliament, we often find ourselves being criticised from both directions.
To those on the right, we are extremists - dogmatic and uncompromising in enforcing an ideology that they see as damaging to the capitalist system they hold dear.
To those on the left though, we are middle-class liberals, more interested in messing around the edges of a failing economic system to achieve the overwhelming changes needed to save our planet, and the vulnerable people likely to be worst affected by the climate emergency.
It’ll surprise no-one that I take little interest in the former critique of Greens - quite frankly, I wish they were correct in their evaluation of us revolutionary socialists. But the latter has legs, and on top of the lack of class diversity - particularly at the top of our party - there is another issue which has plagued Scottish Greens since our great expansion in membership post-2014.
We have been, and continue to be, extremely white.
Now, it’s worth acknowledging the writer’s own privilege here. But my own whiteness is the default for most Greens, with many party meetings remaining paler than even we would like to admit.
The problem is more than just a perception. Recent election candidates paint a very white picture for the Scottish Greens.
Scotland’s 2022 census found that 12.9% of the population identified as having a minority ethnic background.
Between Holyrood 2021, the 2022 Local Authority elections and 2024’s General Election, the Scottish Greens stood a total of 359 candidates.
Across these three sets of elections - in which the party ran more candidates than ever before - a vanishingly small number were from an ethnic minority background. In total, just a half dozen candidates of colour were put forward by the party - a figure surpassed by some other parties in a single local authority alone.
Comparing this to the 12.9% of Scots, less than 2% of Scottish Greens candidates since 2021 had an ethnic minority background. The picture in recent by-elections is similar, with no new candidates of colour putting themselves forward since 2021.
Across the whole country, none of those in that 2% were elected.
Those who have stood have had different experiences, ranging from “supported” to “lonely”.
Iris Duane is the antithesis of what Greens are often branded. A working class woman in her twenties, she stood for the party in Glasgow North in last year’s General Election, surpassing previous best results in the city’s West End and establishing herself as a rising star within the Greens.
Her uncompromising socialism and unapologetic views - informed, in part, by her experience as a black trans woman - put her at the fore of the party’s campaign in 2024.
But unlike others who ran for Westminster, there were challenges, with the experience proving difficult. “I’d be lying if I said my membership of the party I love so much, at times, hasn’t been a lonely experience,” she says, writing for Green Left Scotland.
“When I ran for parliament, I understood that I would be the candidate of colour, I understood that when I faced a torrent of abuse, due to my skin colour, there would be nobody to turn to who had faced the same.
“What struck me during the General Election campaign was just how many people of colour approached me to tell me they had never considered voting Green now was the time. I would not dare seek to take credit for this.
“It does not seem to be that activists of colour are rejecting us, they simply aren’t seeing us; and to not be considered is more harmful than being rejected outright.”
Other former candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds have had a different experience. Arun Sharma, a semi-retired GP living in Inverness, has run in the city twice since 2022, including in one by-election.
Arun says he would run again, having found his previous two campaigns to have been very supportive, but acknowledging that “activity of the Greens up here is relatively light due to geography, population numbers and limited resources”, meaning it took some time to get to know people.
“It was a useful experience for me, meeting our Green MSP, other candidates and supporters, doing a little bit of canvassing and placarding. And it was great to be part of the group that saw Green representation increase from one to four councillors in Highland.
“I was then happy to stand in a local council by-election in 2024, where I ended up doing a bit more canvassing, leafleting and crowdfunding.”
Others who have not yet stood for the Greens say they remain concerned about the lack of support they may receive.
Malena Roche is a Scottish Green Party member in Glasgow and a proud migrant from the Global South. Writing for Green Left Scotland earlier this month, she said next year’s Holyrood election is the chance for Scottish Greens to show their support for migrant’s rights is not just rhetorical.
“I think the messaging will not only help get more votes but also get more members from those communities. I think the main reason we don’t have many diverse candidates is because of the make-up of our membership.”
She says part of that messaging would be an increased visibility of people from diverse background, acknowledging that while she would consider standing herself, she “would foresee support coming locally from my branch and from the Women’s Network”.
For Malena, the problems of racial diversity and the Greens lack of working class representation go hand in hand.
She said: “I think a lot of the problem sits at the intersection of race and class. Black and minority ethnic people in Scotland are more likely to experience socio-economic deprivation than their white Scottish/British counterparts.
“In the case of migrants in the UK, they are more likely to work night-shifts and zero-hour contracts than UK-born workers, therefore more exposed to exploitative practices such as those of the gig economy.
“For these groups to feel addressed by our politicians we don't only need to elect people that they can feel represented by, but we need to make sure we prioritise addressing their material concerns.
“It's hard to care about the environment when you can't pay your bills. Any type of climate messaging will always be more effective when tied into financial concerns and overall improvement of health.”
Arun admits he doesn’t feel “particularly representative or connected to groups or communities of people of colour”, but says it's generally accepted that “if any organisation does not reflect the make-up of the community it comes from or represents”, then “there is an issue that needs addressed”.
“The question would be how best to do this,” he says. “Finding ways to raise the profile of the Greens in ways that are going to reach those groups, whether in person or via social media perhaps. Seeking to understand what barriers may be present and thinking of ways to address those - that would address membership.
“Then for candidates, there are various strategies to increase candidates from specific groups, - additional training and support, added weighting during selection, or even specific quotas. I don't feel in a position to say which would be most effective or appropriate.”
The idea of “concrete actions” to tackle our lack of racial diversity is a hot topic, and one which has seen some significant shifts even recent months. The newly-formed Scottish Greens Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) may well have the most diverse committee the party has ever seen, with members telling Green Left Scotland “we need to have people from diverse backgrounds both in positions within the party, and as candidates”.
Many of those now heading up the PSG are new to the party, and warned they have noticed that “the Greens’ lack diversity in some areas, with ethnic groups and different backgrounds”.
Fundamentally, do the Scottish Greens have a race problem? Members seem split, but there remains a universal agreement that we must be doing more.
“No, and yes,” Iris said. “There is no ‘race problem’, the Scottish Greens are an incredibly diverse political party, and we have been for an incredibly long period of time.
“Yet, despite growing at such an impressive rate, despite being a former party of government, despite polling indicating we will once again increase our representation in Parliament, nothing indicates our internal racial diversity is on track to change.
“Where are we going wrong? This is not something faced by all political parties. The Conservative Party has now had two leaders of colour, Scottish Labour is led by a man of colour, the SNP has had a First Minister of colour, something is wrong.
“That does not mean ‘we are too white’, nor does it mean we have a ‘race problem’, but it does mean we aren’t appealing to communities of colour in ways that our contemporaries are.”
Malena Roche says it's a case of making more of an effort of having candidates of colour “stand in winnable seats”. This view would chime with Arun’s earlier suggestion of quotas and added advantages during selections - a procedure which is currently being reconsidered by the party.
Iris said: “Every party at the table has recognised the need to open doors for people of all backgrounds to get into politics, we’ve all just chosen to do it in different ways.
“Conducive policy is built on the diversity of thought not on the diversity of skin tone; but how do you achieve diversity of thought without a diversity of experience? If successful, as time passes, the need for any mechanism like this will dissipate and thus it should be removed. The lack of any form of mechanism of such may in time decrease our chances of bridging the ‘gap’, the expectation of our party to have and maintain a level of ethnic diversity in time will increase.
“If our actions do not follow, then, neither will the numbers of people of colour who are involved; and thus, we invite the ouroboros of diversity. We should try and elect members of colour, but to elect members of colour we need to grow our base, it is my belief that a quota-like system would not only assist with that but propel us in the right direction.”
Regardless of which mechanism for promoting candidates of colour within the Scottish Greens is taken forward - if at all - a more radical approach is one which those involved believe could help the party appeal to a broader group within society.
“In and amongst the many causes which we as Greens fight for, the fight for racial justice may not have been forgotten but it certainly has not been picked up on externally,” Iris told Green Left Scotland.
“Only taking a different direction - a more radical one, so separate from the other established parties - will allow for that unity of climate justice, social justice, and racial justice that we all seek.”
Read more on this topic tomorrow as Iris Duane writes for Green Left Scotland.