Greens pledge to transform Scotland at manifesto launch. 20 hours ago. Angus CochraneSenior political journalist, BBC Scotland. The Scottish Greens have promised to transform the country as they published their Holyrood election manifesto.. At an event in Glasgow, co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer announced plans to make bus travel and dental treatment free for everyone in Scotland, expand funded childcare and deliver 40,000 new green energy jobs.. The party also said it would tax the country’s wealthiest individuals and companies, as well as polluting industries, to pay for public services.. Mackay said the party would stretch the powers of devolution “to their limits” to deliver a “fairer and better future”.. She said her party had introduced free bus travel for under-22s, wiped school meal debt and increased taxes on the wealthy while it had only seven MSPs, adding that the party could go further if it returned more parliamentarians.. Mackay also said more Green MSPs would help secure a pro-independence majority at Holyrood, which she said was the route to a second referendum.. Scottish Greens launch election manifesto. Scottish Greens’ manifesto pledges analysed. Who are Scottish Green leaders Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay?. Greer said the manifesto could “genuinely transform” the country, “so that rather than serving the interests of an incredibly wealthy few, it would actually meet the needs of people and planet”.. The party has proposed expanding free bus travel – currently given to under-22s and over-60s – to everyone in Scotland. Until that could be delivered, the Greens say bus fares would be capped at £2, with fees immediately scrapped for under-30s.. Under their plans, the bus network would be brought back under local control, with members of the public to be given the chance to invest in bus bonds.. The manifesto also vows to introduce an integrated ticket that would work on all transport networks – including buses, trains, trams and ferries – with the price capped.. First-class carriages on ScotRail trains are to be scrapped, with the extra space to be used for prams and bicycles.. PA Media. Greer said the Greens were the only Holyrood party publishing a manifesto “compatible with the scientific reality of the crisis that we face”, as he reiterated opposition to new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.. He vowed to harness Scotland’s “incredible renewable potential” to lower energy bills, as well as restoring Scotland’s ancient Atlantic rainforest.. The Greens committed to new taxes on landlords, supermarkets and other large retailers selling alcohol and tobacco, gambling companies and large online retailers, as well as developing new proposals for a Scottish wealth tax and a levy on private schools.. Greer said that the richest 2% of Scots have more wealth than the poorest 50%, adding it was time for them to pay their “fair share”.. The co-leader also said his party would scrap and replace council tax with a new residential
