Scottish Greens: Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer elected as new leaders

Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer have been elected the new co-leaders of the Scottish Green Party.

Mackay was elected in the first round of voting, while Greer just edged out incumbent Lorna Slater in the second round.

However, turnout for the election was very low, with just 950 out of over 7,000 party members casting a ballot.

 The pair will lead the Greens into the Holyrood election next year.

According to current polling, the party is on track to beat its record 2021 election result when eight Green MSPs were elected to parliament.

Shortly after, the party entered into government for the first time as part of the Bute House Agreement with the SNP.

Mackay said policies including free bus travel for under 22s and her buffer zones bill proved the party had "already started improving the lives of millions".

She added: "But we can and will go further. We need to be clear: the Scottish Greens have delivered real change, and we are the party for you. For many, the cost-of-living crisis is still taking its toll, but the focus from our governments and our media continues to distract from the real issues facing working people."

Mackay secured a third of the vote in the first round, with a total of 322 - surpassing the required 317 votes.

Greer won 298 votes in the first stage to Slater's 264.

Fourth-placed candidate Dominic Ashmole received 66 votes and was eliminated from the race, with 40 of his votes going to Slater and 19 to Greer - enough to secure him the second co-leader position.

Greer said he would "bring back hope" to politics, and called for higher taxes on the wealthy.

He said: "We shouldn’t be afraid to make the super-rich pay for the transformation that we know our society needs, for example by ending the tax breaks that the aristocracy get for their shooting estates.

"Fixing Scotland’s problems means replacing a system that is rigged in favour of the super-rich with one that works for people and planet."

On the low turnout for the election, Mackay said it was "a concern" that more members did not vote while Greer said it was "disappointing" and there must be "serious internal reform".

On the question of whether the party under this new leadership would seek to do a deal with others after the May election, Greer left the door open on an agreement with the SNP. He said: "We should always be open to the opportunity to join governent."

But both he and Mackay were sceptical of being able to do a similar deal with Labour. Greer added: "The differences between us and Labour were significant enough to begin with and are growing by the day. You've got a Labour Party that is desperately trying to mimic Nigel Farage in every way, shape and form - that is taking them very far awaar from the vision of a fairer, green Scotland."

On the prospect of a cohort of Reform MSPs being elected next year, Mackay suggested the party would not do as well as it is currently polling.

She said: "Once you unmask Reform, I don't think people are actually going to be as enamoured by them as they are currently. They are Tories with a different rosette... They are not a new party, they are not a different offering, they are the same offering in a different jacket and I think once people realise that, they're not going to be the threat that people think they are."