Analysis: Scottish Greens manifesto 2026
This briefing was published on 14/04/26 for PoliMonitor Scotland clients.
Today (Tuesday 14th April) the Scottish Green Party launched its 2026 Scottish Parliament election manifesto in Glasgow titled "Let's Demand Better."
Co-leaders Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay presented a document running to more than 160 pages across 36 policy areas. The party framed the manifesto as a cost of living offer first and a climate offer second, with the two presented as inseparable.
Mackay opened the launch event by describing it as "focused on tackling the cost of living crisis and ensuring a more liveable future." Greer told the audience the party had a plan to "rewire the economy" so it meets the needs of people and planet rather than the wealthy few.
The launch comes at a moment of genuine political opportunity for the Greens in Scotland.
The party returned eight MSPs in 2021. Recent polling suggests they will comfortably surpass that total on 7th May, with some projections pointing to the Greens as potential “kingmakers” if the Scottish National Party falls short of a majority. The SNP is widely expected to remain the largest party, with John Swinney heading what polls consistently describe as a likely but uninspiring victory. Reform UK and Scottish Labour are currently projected to be competing for second place.
However, the campaign has not been without turbulence for the Greens.
Edinburgh and Lothians East list candidate Kate Nevens attracted significant criticism last week after stating she is "keen to live in a Scotland with no jails." Swinney described the position as "bonkers." The manifesto's justice chapter does not mention prison abolition, committing instead to expanding the presumption against short sentences and reducing the remand population through stronger alternatives to custody. Nevens has reportedly declined to recant, leaving a visible gap between candidate and document that other parties have been quick to exploit.
The childcare argument
Childcare is the manifesto's most direct pitch to families.
The party proposes extending the existing 1,140 funded hours to all two-year-olds and providing 570 funded hours for every child from six months to two years old, with universal provision for the youngest children proposed to be reached by the end of 2031. The party values this at a saving of £10,000 per child over two and a half years.
The SNP currently provides 1,140 funded hours to three and four-year-olds, with provision for younger children remaining income-dependent.
The Greens propose closing that gap entirely.
BBC Scotland's social affairs producer Susie Forrest noted that the commitment would be expensive and complicated, relies on the private sector to supply places at pace, and risks creating childcare deserts in areas where staff and premises cannot keep up with rising demand. The workforce question applies equally to the party's proposal to raise the school starting age to seven and introduce a play-based kindergarten stage for three to six-year-olds, modelled on the Finnish system. Both commitments carry significant implications for teacher supply and infrastructure that the manifesto does not cost in detail.
The party also proposes ending homework in primary schools and replacing Scotland's existing exam system through full implementation of the Hayward Review, reducing the role of high-stakes exams and increasing continuous assessment.
Transport
Free bus travel for everyone resident in Scotland is a headline proposal, extending the existing offer for under-22s to the whole population.
In the transition period, the party proposes immediately expanding free travel to all under-30s and introducing a £2 fare cap across all services. First class rail carriages on ScotRail would be abolished, with Greer noting that 98% of those seats currently go unsold, and the space converted to standard class with additional provision for bikes, wheelchairs and buggies. A new integrated ticketing system, ScotCard, is proposed to provide zonal pricing with daily caps across bus, rail and ferry. Journey costs on Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams would be capped and brought within national concessionary travel schemes.
The Greens can point to free travel for young people as a direct product of their time in government, with over 275 million journeys taken under that scheme. The cost of extending the offer to the full population is not broken down in the manifesto.
Taxing wealth, replacing Council Tax
The manifesto proposes scrapping Council Tax and replacing it with a Residential Property Tax based on current property values, with reliefs for lower and precarious incomes and a five-year transition period. A mansion tax on properties valued at £1 million or more would be introduced through two new Council Tax bands in the interim. The party proposes setting higher rates for landlords' rental income following the rollout of rent controls, introducing surcharges on businesses causing environmental or social harm through the non-domestic rates system, and developing proposals for a Scottish Wealth Tax.
Several of the more ambitious fiscal commitments would depend on powers not currently held by Holyrood.
The manifesto is explicit that independence is the route to a full wealth tax and meaningful corporation tax reform. The Fraser of Allander Institute has previously calculated the cost of the party's minimum income guarantee, a step toward its long-standing Universal Basic Income commitment, at around £58 billion. The manifesto does not set out how that figure would be met under the current devolution settlement.
Climate and energy
The Greens propose being the only party at this election to explicitly oppose any new oil or gas fields in the North Sea, including Rosebank, and the proposed new gas-fired power plant at Peterhead. A £600 million investment programme in onshore and offshore wind, tidal and solar is proposed. Carbon capture and storage is described in the manifesto as an unproven greenwashing technology, with public funding currently directed toward it proposed for redeployment into renewables. The party proposes opposing new nuclear generation in Scotland, including small modular reactors.
A target of 40,000 new green energy jobs by the end of the Parliament is set out, alongside Just Transition funding proposed to be doubled to £1 billion. A new publicly funded retraining programme for oil and gas workers is proposed, with the party citing the transitions at Grangemouth and Mossmorran as models of what it wants to avoid repeating. A Scottish Community Wealth Fund is proposed that would require large renewables developers to contribute a percentage of profits for distribution to communities across Scotland.
Justice, housing and independence
On justice, the manifesto proposes a focus on prevention, community justice and a presumption against short sentences for non-violent offenders, alongside a Legal Aid Reform Bill to address what the party describes as a decade of erosion in access to justice. Safe consumption facilities would be rolled out wherever there is an issue with public drug use, with Edinburgh and Dundee identified as the next priority after the existing Glasgow project.
On housing, the Greens propose building at least 15,700 social homes a year to 2031 and a statutory target to end homelessness by 2040. Rent controls secured by the Greens in the previous Parliament would be strengthened and the SNP's decision to abolish interim controls reversed. Annual rent increases in Rent Control Areas would be capped at the lower of inflation or average earnings, up to a maximum of 6%.
Independence is present but not framed as the election's central question.
The manifesto supports independence as a long-term goal and presents it as the route to rejoining the European Union, removing nuclear weapons from Scottish waters, and replacing the Barnett Formula with full fiscal autonomy. There would be no referendum in the first term. The party is, however, in reported early discussions with Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin about coordinating pressure on the UK Government on spending, taxation, welfare and European alignment. Whether that informal alignment translates into concerted pressure will depend significantly on the election results across all three nations on 7th May.
Further significant proposals
The manifesto contains a significant range of additional commitments across other policy areas. Among those likely to generate coverage or carry implications for specific sectors:
The Scottish Child Payment would be increased to £40 per week, with an aim of at least £55 by 2030, with supplements proposed for the poorest families.
A Land Reform Bill would cap individual or company land ownership at 500 hectares, with a Public Interest Test on purchases of large landholdings. Half of Scotland is currently estimated to be owned by around 400 people.
A Nature Restoration Fund increase to £200 million is proposed, alongside a target to restore at least 45,000 hectares of peatland annually and reintroduction of keystone species including lynx where there is community support.
On health, the party proposes a ratio of one GP per 1,000 patients, an end to all dental charges with dental practices gradually brought into NHS ownership, and a long-term sustainable funding model for hospice care including pay parity between NHS and hospice staff.
A Scottish Human Rights Bill is proposed to enshrine economic, social and cultural rights in Scots law, including rights to housing, healthcare, food and a healthy environment, enforceable through a new Scottish Environmental Court.
On external affairs, the manifesto proposes banning the United States Military and other governments involved in war crimes from using Scottish Government-owned infrastructure including Prestwick Airport. It proposes implementing the Scottish Parliament's decision to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel, and establishing a Scottish Reparative Justice Fund to address Scotland's historic role in the slave trade.
On workers' rights, Fair Work First conditions would be made mandatory for all public procurement and grants, four-day week pilots in the public sector would be continued, and sectoral collective bargaining would begin in care, childcare and hospitality.
A private school tax is proposed, with revenues directed to state schools and social care services. There are 71 private schools in Scotland.
On drugs, the manifesto calls on the UK Government to devolve powers over drugs legislation to Scotland to allow movement toward decriminalisation and legal regulation, alongside rolling out safe consumption facilities and confidential drug checking services.
On animal welfare, the party proposes phasing out harmful agricultural practices including farrowing crates for pigs and cages for chickens, and banning electric shock collars for cats and dogs.
A Culture Bill is proposed to deliver multi-year funding for the cultural sector, alongside a stadium levy of £1 on tickets for events over 2,500 capacity to fund grassroots venues.
Points to note
Several significant commitments in the manifesto are contingent on powers not currently devolved to Holyrood, including Universal Basic Income, immigration reform, and full fiscal autonomy. The manifesto is consistent in naming independence as the mechanism for unlocking those powers, while arguing that meaningful progress is possible in the interim. The prison abolition episode illustrated how quickly candidate statements can complicate that argument. The justice chapter's silence on the issue is deliberate; whether it is sufficient to close the story down is less certain.
The second leaders' debate takes place this evening (14th April) on Channel 4. The Holyrood election is on Thursday 7th May 2026. Results coverage begins on Friday 8th May.
PoliMonitor will continue to monitor party policy developments and the campaign in the weeks ahead.
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