Scottish Greens councillors defect to Your Party

Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party has gained its first Scottish councillors – after a trio of Greens defected.

Your Party was formed by Corbyn and Zarah Sultana MP, who is due to speak in Glasgow today.

The party is yet to formalise its name and counts former Scottish Socialist Party MSP Frances Curran amongst its members.

Now she has been joined by three sitting councillors and a prominent activist who challenged Patrick Harvie to top the Glasgow list in next year’s election.

Ellie Gomersall, a past president of students’ union NUS Scotland, sought to become the party’s lead candidate in the city next year but lost out to incumbent Harvie, placing second.

Other defectors include Dan Hutchison, Seonad Hoy and Leodhas Massie, all of whom sit on Glasgow City Council.

In a statement, Gomersall took a swipe at the Greens, saying: “Where every single one of the existing Holyrood parties is complicit in passing on brutal cuts to public services, it’s clear to me that only Your Party can be taken seriously to stand firm against austerity and work to materially improve the lives of the working class.

“I’m grateful to all those who supported me during my time in the Greens, and my message to each of you is simple: if you want to see socialists elected to our parliaments, city chambers and town halls across Scotland and the UK, join me in Your Party.”

Govan councillor Hutchison said: “I’ve spent the last 10 years fighting to get the Greens to be the left-wing force they think they are.

“But their MSPs have their heads deep in the sand, voting to cut budgets year after year and enabling the largest sell-off of public land to the private sector.

“While Your Party is still in its early days, it’s the largest step toward unity that I’ve seen on the left in my lifetime.

“The damage that the parties in Holyrood have already done to our public sector is catastrophic but is nothing compared to the damage that a Farage-led government will do.

“I’m proud to be joining a truly socialist party who will not accept the status quo, will actually involve ordinary people in the politics that impacts their lives, and won’t be accepting brutal cuts in exchange for scraps off the table.”

Responding to the news, a spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, which recently elected new leadership in MSPs Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer, said: “We’re disappointed to hear that they have decided to leave our party and Glasgow’s largest group of socialist councillors. We thank them for the work they have done as Green councillors.

“Scottish Greens have always stood up for people and the planet in Glasgow and beyond, whether protecting public services from cuts, or fighting to improve our public transport.

“Our councillors will continue to lead the fight for their communities and against the billionaire profiteers who exploit Scottish workers and pollute our planet.

“We’ve seen a huge surge in support for the Scottish Greens, with record polling and over 1,200 people joining us in recent months. We look forward to electing even more eco-socialists in Glasgow next May.”