The Scottish Greens have a solid record of protecting the climate where others have refused to step up, fighting for equality when Westminster stokes a culture war against the most vulnerable and lifting children out of poverty when Tory policies have pushed more families into crisis.

Whether it is their climate-wrecking policies, attacks on refugees, damaging Brexit or the all-out assault Liz Truss waged on the economy, the past 14 years under Conservative rule have been a national tragedy.

Generations from now it will be the failure to tackle the climate crisis which people look back on with particular horror. The science couldn’t be clearer and we can quite literally see the effects of climate breakdown happening all around us, but instead of taking action to protect the planet, the Tories have authorised new oil and gas fields and even a coal mine.

During our time in the Scottish Government, the Scottish Greens introduced a range of actions which are helping both people and the planet.

We are proud to have stood up for tenants - by introducing an emergency rent freeze and eviction ban, complemented by a new housing bill which, if passed by parliament, will massively expand the rights of tenants and introduce an effective system of rent controls.

We removed peak-time rail fares and introduced free bus travel for young people. We cancelled the school meal debt held by struggling families and we set in motion new rules - set to be published soon - which will cap the costs of school uniforms. And this year alone we secured a record £4.7 billion for climate and nature work across Scotland.

Any new government, whether it be John Swinney’s at Holyrood or the incoming Starmer administration at Westminster, must deliver a programme of bold action to tackle child poverty and the climate crisis. The Scottish Greens started that work before Humza Yousaf collapsed his own government, but it must continue in both Edinburgh and London regardless of who the first minister and prime minister are.

The new prime minister should start by undoing the damage done by Sunak, Truss and Jonhson. He can revoke the permission given to a new climate-wrecking oil field at Rosebank, begin the process of returning the UK to the European Union and end cruel Tory policies like the two-child limit on Child Benefit, which keeps 10,000 Scottish children in poverty.

Sadly, Keir Starmer does not intend to do any of these things. His commitment to maintain Tory policies makes clear how important it is to have Green voices in both the Scottish and UK parliaments.

We know that a fairer, greener (and independent) Scotland is possible. We will stick to our values, working day and night for people and the planet.