Report: MSPs

Alison Johnstone

It’s fair to say that the past year has been a challenging one. In the midst of
the climate emergency and the mass extinction of species, we find ourselves
tackling the impact of a global pandemic that has exposed entrenched inequality
and the failure of an economic model that assumes an endless supply of planetary
resources. The pandemic has devastated the lives and livelihoods of many of our
constituents in Lothian and beyond and there has been a marked increase in
correspondence from people seeking advice and support on a wide range of
pressing issues.

As Co-Leader of the Parliamentary Group I have scrutinised the Government’s
response to Covid-19, working with colleagues, clinicians and public health
experts to ensure public health measures are appropriate and timely. I sought to
amend the Coronavirus legislation to improve support for carers, reaching
agreement with the Government, and was defeated in my efforts to make the birth
control pill available, free of charge. at pharmacies during the pandemic. I
have used my opportunity at First Minister’s Questions to raise a wide range of
issues including the pandemic, the treatment of asylum seekers, wildlife
persecution, transport, austerity and more.

My work in Lothian has involved meeting and supporting various local groups,
organisations and individuals including Gorgie Farm who fought against closure
with a well-supported local campaign involving Green Councillors and MSPs. I met
with local residents in Liberton concerned at the gradual erosion of local open
space to development pressures, accompanied by our local branch representative,
visiting sites enjoyed by many. I met young apprentices in Edinburgh’s
nurseries, visited the Cyrenians Fare Share project and helped local volunteers
clean our city’s beaches.

I have spoken at several Youth Climate Strikes, represented the Party at
conferences including the Poverty Alliance Conference, the Nourish Scotland
Conference, Scottish Women Stand and the inaugural Revive Conference. I took
forward my Members Bill proposal to properly ban fox hunting in Scotland and
make the mountain hare a protected species. I took advantage of the legislative
opportunity afforded by the Government’s Animals and Wildlife Bill and achieved
the latter with overwhelming public support. As part of our budget negotiations
this year, the Green MSP group achieved free bus travel for Under 19s. While the
pandemic has impacted this delivery, this marks another concrete result due to
our pragmatic engagement with the Scottish budget process.

Andy Wightman

The 14 months since the 2019 AGM have continued to be dominated by external
events including a General Election, the ongoing Brexit debacle and, latterly
the global coronavirus pandemic. Our work in Parliament has been disrupted in
recent months by the pandemic but it has been a busy year, nevertheless.

As MSPs, we try to get out and about as much as possible and highlights of the
past year have included a visit to the South of Scotland Golden Eagle project
(as Scottish Parliament’s `golden Eagle species champion), a visit with Ross
Greer MSP to the HarburnHead Wind Farm in West Lothian with representatives of
the Lothian Pension Fund, and filming for a BBC travelogue with Frankie Boyle to
discuss how Scotland’s land is owned.

Constituency work has been wide and varied including the usual health, housing
and social security issues as well as casework that has led to wider campaigns
such as my representing constituent Colin Brown in the Housing Tribunal and
working on a human rights challenge to private renting law.

I have been involved in a wide range of legislation in Parliament including the
Period Products Bill, Heat Networks Bill, Scottish National Investment Bank bill
and Non-Domestic Rates Bill. In the latter, we made a determined (buy
unsuccessful) effort to repatriate non-domestic rates to local authorities. More
recently, I have been campaigning strenuously for more protection for private
renters through the two emergency Coronavirus Bills.

Wider work has included working with residents and professionals to resolve
issues related to suspect cladding on residential buildings, ongoing work on the
Homes First campaign along with Edinburgh Councillors and continuing efforts to
eradicate wildlife crime and ban driven grouse shooting. On 5 May 2020, I
introduced my Members Bill (European Charter of Local Self-Government
(Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill) to Parliament and Stage One scrutiny is
underway.