The Scottish Greens have said Scotland deserves better than “the status quo” as they set out their five-year plan for Holyrood.
Co-leader Gillian Mackay has said that transport, climate and childcare will be the focus for the party’s 15 newly-elected MSPs in the Scottish Parliament.
Ms Mackay said that under their plans Scotland’s transport has the “ability to be world-leading “as the Scottish Greens have committed to make buses free for everyone in the country.
Throughout their Holyrood election campaign the Greens have been pushing for the introduction of free bus travel, which they claim will help with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and climate crisis.
She said: “We have been clear from the very beginning that Scotland deserves better than the status quo, and that is what we plan to give people in this next session of Parliament.
“The cost of living is far too high and it’s fast becoming a problem for more and more families across this country to keep up with it. We know that rising costs are also interconnected with the climate crisis, and we’ve got a plan to tackle both.
“When we introduced free bus travel for under-22s, we did so with those families in mind. Putting money back into people’s pockets and giving young people more opportunity to commute to school, college and work. We want to build on the success of this scheme and roll it out to everyone before the end of this session.
“Scotland’s public transport has the ability to be world-leading. We have fleets of climate-friendly trains and buses at our disposal. By making them more affordable and accessible, we can give everyone the option to leave their cars at home and hop on a bus or train to work instead.”
The Scottish Greens have also pledged to push for the “biggest expansion of funded childcare in a generation” to ensure mothers in particular have the option to continue their careers after having children.
Ms Mackay continued: “Families, and especially mothers, are also being driven out of the workforce because childcare has become so unaffordable that it is not worth their time to pay for nursery. Many people who want to grow their family are choosing not to because they are faced with limited or unaffordable childcare options. This is not the Scotland I want to live in.
“That is why we’re pushing for the biggest expansion of funded childcare in a generation, offering 570 hours of funded childcare from six months old, increasing to 1,140 hours at two years old.
“We are doing this so that more parents don’t feel the need to leave the workforce until their children are three years old or of school age. So that mothers in particular don’t have to face the challenge of giving up their careers, ambitions or opportunities to progress in their fields simply because they now have a wee one at home.
“When we put people and planet at the heart of our priorities, we can create a better Scotland. We intend on delivering the promises we have made in our manifesto over the next five years to make that better Scotland a reality.”
