Scottish Greens MSPs offered themselves up for cosy lunches in exchange for cash
The Scottish Greens are at the centre of a cash for access scandal after offering cosy lunches with government ministers and MSPs for hundreds of pounds. The Sunday Mail can reveal the party was offering meetings with their most senior politicians at party conferences for £700 a head.
Documents show the practice has been going on for at least a year and covers the time co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater were government ministers in their failed SNP coalition.
The Lobbying Scotland Act 2016 means ministers and MSPs have to abide by strict rules as they have the power to influence government policy and how billions of pounds is spent. Former SNP minister Fergus Ewing has accused the party of rank hypocrisy and rule breaking.
The MSP said: “The Green party leaders Harvie and Slater have been caught red handed. They offer access in exchange for cash - a pretty blatant breach of the rules applicable to MSPs.
“I note that Mr Harvie recently slammed the Tories for taking money from businesses. He has been trying to do exactly what he said was outrageous - that makes him Harvie the Hypocrite.”
At the Green’s Spring conference on April 4 this year lobbyists were offered the chance to pay for a “sponsored lunch” in return for “an exclusive table to talk to ministers, MSPs and members”. The same offering is being made for the party’s upcoming conference next month despite them no longer having any ministers.
Lobbying expert Will Dinan from Stirling University said: “This is a bad look for the Greens. It also appears to breach the rules in place that governs access to ministers. There is clearly a perception of privileged access created by how this sponsorship is pitched. The Greens appear to have travelled some distance from when they were champions of probity when in opposition in Holyrood.”
The party, which has seven MSPs, first offered explicit access to senior figures last October with lobbyists given the chance to buy an “exhibitor reception” for £700 in exchange for an “invitation only opportunity to talk to MSPs, councillors and observers.”
Before then, material only said purchasers would get the chance to “network with members” but mentioned nothing about having face time with ministers or MSPs.
In the lead up to the last General Election Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie launched a plan for more transparency around political funding and claimed: “Our politics should never be for sale”.
The former Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights said his party wanted “tougher transparency and enforcement rules” and accused the Tories and Labour of allowing wealthy donors too much influence.
A senior Green party insider said Slater and Harvie should step down and questioned why the sponsorships were approved in the first place.
The source said: “A willingness to sell access to our politicians totally undermines our party and goes against our core values. As Greens we have long wanted to clean up politics and strengthen democracy, and to do that we must lead by example.
“This is a fundamental failure of governance from party leadership and we have to ask how this has been allowed to happen. If this was the Conservatives, Labour or the SNP selling access to government ministers and MSPs we would rightly be saying that heads should roll.
"Those who oversaw and approved this clear example of cash for access have brought our party into disrepute and should take that advice.”
Ewing, who branded the Scottish Greens "wine bar revolutionaries” said Harvie should be immediately contacting Holyrood’s Presiding Officer. The SNP grandee said: “I wait with interest to see if he does so.”
The cash for access could see the party in hot water with authorities in the Scottish Parliament.
The parliamentary code states: “Members may participate in events for which others are charged a fee to attend... There could be some concern that events falling into this category could be a means of ‘buying’ access to MSPs. It is important that there should be no grounds for such a perception.”
One Green party member said MSP Ross Greer should be questioned as he was one of the party’s executives when the sponsorship deals were being offered.
They said: “Ross and the rest of the executive team Greens co-chair Carolynn Scrimgeour and Operations Manager Pete Morrison would have had oversight of this and would have had to approve it.
“Carolynn only took on the role earlier this year so she may not have known if it was all approved before then but Ross and Pete would have been aware this was being done.”
In contrast to their former partners in government the SNP’s conference sponsorship documents from this year stated: “The SNP cannot and will not offer meetings with government ministers, party spokespeople or senior personnel in exchange for any commercial deal.”
The Scottish Greens, when asked by the Sunday Mail, refused to say which organisations paid for access to their politicians and how much the party made from these sponsorships.
But an inspection of Holyrood’s Lobbying Register shows nothing listed during the party’s conference season for Slater or Harvie.
READ MORE: Greens demand SNP Government commits to free ferry travel scheme for young islanders
The party was kicked out of government on April 25 by ex First Minister Humza Yousaf after he ripped up the Bute House Agreement. The Greens, who presided over the failed Deposit Return Scheme, were furious after the SNP government ditched key climate change targets.
The Green also refused to disclose whether Greer had signed off on offering sponsorship opportunities at conference last year and this year. They claimed he wasn’t responsible for writing the document on the party’s website.
A spokesman said: “Like all political parties the Scottish Greens will host charities, campaign groups and other stakeholders at our conference with sponsorship options where appropriate and in line with rules and regulations.
“The text in this brochure was written ahead of the end of the Bute House Agreement. Future versions will, of course, have an updated text.
“No MSP has been involved in the production of this document. When Scottish Green MSPs were Ministers, they always declared relevant meetings and discussions as required under the Ministerial code.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.