Ross Greer standing for Greens leadership

Ross Greer is standing to be the next co-leader of the Scottish Green Party.

The West Scotland MSP confirmed his candidacy on Thursday morning, joining fellow MSPs Lorna Slater and Gillian Mackay who had previously said they would stand.

The party elects two co-leaders, one of whom must be female.

Patrick Harvie, who has been at the helm of the Greens for 17 years, announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term as leader.

Greer has long been considered Harvie’s eventual successor.

Throwing his hat in the ring, Greer said: “Delivering a transformation in the face of intense resistance from the super-rich and their backers in parliament and the media won’t be easy though. The Scottish Greens need to change and grow stronger if we’re to win the struggle for a better world.

“In the coming weeks I’ll set out the kind of reforms I think we need to make within our party to do that. Our policies and vision are already there, but our organisation needs some work if it's to live up to our collective belief in genuine radical democracy.

“For now though, I’m setting out my stall – a Scottish Green Party focused on delivering the changes people and planet really need and one brave enough to take on and defeat the rich and powerful in pursuit of that goal.”

Greer has been an MSP since 2016, elected at just 21 years old.

He worked closely behind the scenes with the SNP while the Bute House Agreement was in place and is known to have a good relationship with First Minister John Swinney in particular.

However, some in the party now see the Bute House Agreement as a mistake and criticise Greer for his role in it.

It is understood that a challenger from the party’s grassroots, likely to be a councillor, will be announced in the coming days.

The nomination period is open until Friday 25 July.

Ballots will go out to members from 13 August, and the vote will close on 22 August. The winners will be announced soon after.

Lothian MSP Slater announced she would stand again shortly after Harvie said he was standing down.

Central Scotland MSP Mackay said she was standing because it was “important that we have women with big voices and ideas” on the frontline of politics while it is “dominated by the egos of men”.