Patrick Harvie steps back: will Glasgow continue to dominate the Greens?

Dear readers — so we begin another week. With the good weather holding out, the city is at its very best. Today we’ve got a bumper big story, as we unpick the legacy of Patrick Harvie, the Glasgow MSP who has led the Scottish Greens for nearly two decades. On 2 April, Harvie announced he would not be seeking re-election for co-leader in this summer’s contest, blowing the race wide open.

But Harvie is going for Holyrood again in 2026, so The Bell began ringing around to pull together a picture of what all this means for Glasgow and its Greens. 

We can never stress enough that The Bell is a reader-funded publication. We're answerable only to our readers, rather than behemoth companies or billionaire owners.

To give you an example of what being answerable to readers looks like: when the news that Patrick Harvie wasn’t seeking re-election broke, we asked a Glasgow Green insider for their thoughts. “Relief,” they said. We posted this on social media, which attracted some consternation from a portion of readers who felt it wasn’t representative enough. So The Bell spoke to them too. We were always going to publish a wider Monday feature, but being answerable to readers means we are directly in conversation with you. We listen to what you say, and genuinely want to incorporate a multitude of views into our coverage. There’s no deeper agenda — only shaping local news coverage that truly reflects the plurality of the city we live in. 

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Big story: 'A f**king shitshow' — the view from the Greens as a power vacuum opens

Topline: Last week, Scottish Greens co-leader of 17 years and Glasgow MSP Patrick Harvie announced he was not seeking re-election to head up his party. Naturally, the news prompted a flood of praise for Harvie’s lengthy tenure, which has totally transformed the Greens as a political force — and even saw them enter government. 

But Harvie still plans to stand as an MSP for the 2026 Holyrood election (a declaration that has reportedly caused some consternation for potentially breaking internal party rules). So, what now for the Greens — and what role will their Glasgow reps play in the future?

A long legacy: The Bell spoke to multiple Green politicians, members and activists. All, naturally, paid testament to Harvie’s political legacy. “I genuinely would aspire to be remembered like Patrick is,” longtime Green activist Tristan Grayford tells The Bell. The party is “defined in part by Patrick Harvie,” he continues, noting that media didn’t always take the Greens' co-leadership “seriously,” and occasionally treated Patrick as sole head of the group.  

More critical voices: There were also numerous critiques, which mostly boil down to: after 17 years leading a party, it’s time for fresh blood (which Harvie himself seems to agree with). “He put the Greens on the political map,” another party source concedes. But they believe that “the Patrick Harvie of 2014, the Patrick Harvie that thousands of people joined the party to support, is not the same Patrick Harvie who is now leaving office. And I think that’s hard for people to come to terms with”. The Greens, they say, have “morphed into just another political party” rather than one which “challenges the establishment". 

• Harvie, adds the source, is “pretty disengaged from his [Glasgow] branch” and the mood on the ground is unhappy. 
• Tristan Grayford, who is Edinburgh-based, had a more diplomatic take, saying that it’s “useful” that the Greens have shown that the party is willing to cooperate in government but [...] I think there's a necessity to have someone who's willing to be quite aggressive with setting the party stance on progressive issues”.
• Grayford wants to see more work with partners like Living Rent, that demonstrate material worth to people on the ground, to illustrate the separation between the Greens “the Scottish Labor Party, who are increasingly divorced from any connection to the world outside Westminster”. 

MSP race: Harvie is also a Glasgow representative. And before the battle for co-leader begins in summer (“it’s going to be a f**king sh*tshow,” groans one Green to The Bell), there is a selection process for the names the Glasgow Greens will be putting up to challenge seats at Holyrood elections. This is a key moment. 

For obvious reasons, Harvie has been top of the selection list for over a decade. But now, as he relinquishes his co-leadership, serious challengers are likely to emerge, aiming to topple him. If Glasgow Greens members return Harvie in any position other than first, it will be a clear signal of his waning popularity. More generally, whoever places highly on the list is likely to then run for a co-leader spot.

• Of Glasgow’s prominent Greens, names that frequently emerged as extremely likely to be on the ballot included Ellie Gomersall, the branch’s campaigns manager; Iris Duane, who previously ran in the 2024 Westminster elections for a Glasgow North seat, and Holly Bruce, the Langside councillor who’s gained national profile for her feminist campaigning work. 
• Others in the mix are journalist Niall Christie and Dennistoun councillor Anthony Carroll, although Carroll, most said, would be most likely to run for co-leader regardless (in the Greens, councillors can be co-leaders). 

Deluding themselves? However, while some Glasgow insiders are convinced Harvie won’t place higher than second in MSP selections, others think they’re kidding themselves. 

“There may be anger against individuals who defended [the Bute House agreement],” says another Glasgow Green politician. “But there might be the complete opposite”. A party vote on the agreement, scheduled for last year, was scrapped because Humza Yousaf ended the coalition deal before it took place, they note. “So there isn’t an accurate parameter of how members feel about our government”. Basically: not all members are that active with the day-to-day of Green party business and may not feel the same dissatisfaction some activists do. 

• Another Green member of the Glasgow branch agrees. “It's difficult to see anyone being more popular than Patrick, purely on name recognition,” they say. 

Divided we fall: As for reports about ‘factionalism’ in the Greens, they're not entirely accurate. 

“It’s personality conflicts, not ideological,” says Tristan Grayford. “People look for cliques as if they’re political opponents, when they’re friendships”. It’s a small party, he explains, which means people who don’t get on are more likely to come into contact. From his vantage point, he thinks these conflicts play out more in Glasgow’s Green branch which is the biggest in Scotland and “kind of the centre of gravity of internal Scottish Green politics”. A Glasgow-based Greens member agreed. 

• Grayford did, however, take time to condemn “nasty and toxic” briefing to the press, which he believes has emerged in the last few years and is contrary to the “discursive” nature of the Greens. He says Glasgow is hub for this.
• In Grayford's opinion, it's also a media myth that Harvie had an “iron grip” on the party. Internally, “it was wild because Patrick lost votes at [the Greens conference] every year [...] and one of his best features was that every single time he’d go ‘cool, I’ll fight on the platform voted by membership'". 

A new Glasgow co-leader? As for a new co-leader, the pool is wider than just Glasgow. Firstly, there’s the question of whether the next party co-lead should be a councillor or MSP. Some Greens have already publicly stated their preference for a co-leader drawn from the ranks of Green councillors: Govan rep, Dan Hutchison has penned a piece for Green Left on why he thinks a councillor at the top would help redistribute power to local communities. 

• Out of potential Glasgow contenders, as we mentioned earlier, Cllr Anthony Carroll’s name came up a lot. 
• Other than that, it was Central Scotland MSP, Gillian Mackay who was the name on everyone’s lips. North East Scotland MSP, Maggie Chapman also got a good show of support.
• “I’d prefer an MSP from mid-Scotland, or a councilor from the Highlands,” says Tristan Grayford. “Someone who's not going to be dragged into [sniping]”. 

Bottom line: Despite mixed feelings about the state in which Patrick Harvie is leaving the party, all the Greens we spoke to say the passing of the baton is a chance to reinvigorate as a more radical political force. “I think it's an opportunity for us to take a fresh approach and to try and be a voice for more radical politics and to try and shift the perception of the party [as having] middle class concerns,”  says a member. 

“There's a lot of working class communities that we traditionally have zero representation in. There’s a constituency out there for the kind of politics we have, particularly economic policies but we haven’t communicated to those voters particularly well”. 

What do you make of Patrick Harvie and Glasgow's Greens? What representation do you want to see?

Stories you might have missed: 

• There’s been a ‘shocking’ 41% rise in rapes in Glasgow City since last year
  Levels of domestic abuse and rape are up by 41% on the previous year, with a 28% rise in sexual assault, according to figures from the Safe Glasgow Partnership. “We owe it to every woman and girl in Glasgow to act — not tomorrow, but now,” councillor Soryia Siddique said, launching a motion for “immediate and sustained action” to tackle the crisis around women’s safety.
• Police are attempting to calm fears after online rumours fuel panic about people filming children in parks
  Concerns are growing over filming around play parks, following incidents across Glasgow. Two men were charged with breach of the peace following alleged filming of children in a Paisley park, which sparked widespread rumours online. Another person has also been charged in connection with an alleged breach of the peace following an incident in Rutherglen. Assistant chief constable Catriona Paton said it was not against the law to take photographs or film in public places unless it was for “criminal purposes”.

Read/listen/watch: The factors accused of shaking down tenants

This Times investigation into the lack of oversight applied to property factors is harrowing reading. Take Kristian Stevenson, spotlighted in the piece, who purchased a two-bed Cessnock flat — only for the factor to charge him £4,000, a debt owed by someone else in the building Stevenson had nothing to do with. “Grievances against factors to housing tribunals have increased [...] to 330 last year from 26 in 2012,” notes the article. We’re sure they’ll rise further still, now this article has been published. 

Do you have any factor horror stories? Let us know: editor@glasgowbell.co.uk. 

We also rec: 

🧮 An untaxing series on tax
Glasgow gets two notable mentions in Dan Neidle’s new Radio 4 series. The first, unsurprisingly, is Rangers’ infamous tax strategy. The second is a less predictable story involving fraud, the Blochairn Fruit Market and an overpriced fridge.

⛪ Charles Rennie Mackintosh church pews sawn up and sold for £40
Another Times story, this on the puzzling news that the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society allowed two Mackintosh pews from Queen’s Cross Church to be sawn up and sold on Facebook. 

Catch up and coming up 

• Last week, Moya dug into a story about who owns Glasgow’s business, via a twisty tale about a Merchant Square escape room and its mysterious bosses. 
• Rory MacNeish was in Dennistoun, exploring if the area has finally ‘come up’ — and what that means for longtime residents.
• We’re looking for more freelance reporters and data heads to commission — if you relate to the title ‘economic geographer’, we want to hear from you: editor@glasgowbell.co.uk. 

Just a perfect day

Every week, one Glasgow resident runs us through their ideal way to spend a day in the city.

Mark Armstrong, 54, director of Collective Communities

DAWN: I’ll wake up at 7am in Rutherglen, click on Radio Scotland to hear the news, then go downstairs and open all my curtains and blinds. Have a shower, followed by a nice breakfast: coffee, some healthy fruit and a croissant. I like the Parisian culture of taking a wee bit to warm up to the day, so I’d eat breakfast while reading the news on MSN. 

My perfect day includes working so I’d cycle 20 minutes to the Barras and Glasgow Collective [co-working space], where I’m often based. I’m currently working on a programme, where we’re connecting more than 20 entrepreneurs facing barriers to starting a business — maybe childcare issues or they’re from minority communities — with mentorship through the Collective. At the moment I’m speaking to people and organisations that are interested in getting involved, like Women’s Aid. 

MIDDAY: I would try and get the steps in; for lunch I like to investigate new places. I tend not to go to the same place every day. The Collective’s location is great because you’ve got about 50 different choices. I’m on a health kick so I’d go for tuna or Mediterranean salad, with croutons and not too much oil. I’d sit by myself as I like the headspace, read the paper or jot down notes in a diary on anything I haven’t been able to get to yet that morning. 

AFTERNOON: I do art on the side. It started as a mindfulness hobby and has turned into a wee bit of a business, a brand called GlasGogh because it’s based around the idea ‘what if Vincent Van Gogh’s brush was to land in Glasgow?’ There’s art studios [upstairs] in the Collective so I’d spend a couple of hours in the afternoon painting. It takes my mind off things. 

DUSK: I’d meet people for dinner — about 5pm. It’s got to be a local independent restaurant, not a chain, and have a nice positive vibe. I don’t like laminated menus and I always ask for the special. I like to try new things. I’m trying to get into wine so we’d also have nice wine with the meal. After dinner, I’d probably go to the theatre with my friends; I used to do a lot of amateur theatre and I still have lots of pals from there. It often ends up being nine girls and me! I’d go to Òran Mór, take a glass of wine to my seat. 

AFTER HOURS: We’d have a post-theatrical debrief. It’s got to be somewhere I can get a comfy seat: I like to chat, tell stories and listen, like Babbity Bowser’s in town. My days of neon lights and pounding music are long gone. But conversation can go until about 1am and then I’ll head home and it’s straight to sleep.

Unconstructive critique: Sebb’s, 68 Miller Street 

Downstairs from sister spot Margo resides its brasher, younger sibling, all exposed brickwork, DJs and leather banquettes. What separates Sebb’s from its competition is not the studied informality or great cocktails, but rather it being the rare late night drinking den that boasts a proper kitchen. In for a few dishes and drinks recently, we enjoyed the charred, curried celeriac with fennel salad and coconut raita. Likewise, grilled sea bass also benefited greatly from the kitchen’s live fire cooking. Cocktails were spot on too, from a Mezcal sour to a miso and brown butter old fashioned. With the sight of a DJ spinning records in a booth at the back, at times it feels like a venue that doesn’t quite know what it is, even if we appreciate the inspiration from vinyl bars on the continent. Either way, the focus here is on what’s coming out of the bar and kitchen, and the results are on point. We think we know which sibling we prefer...

Glasgow calendar: Art Deco Scotland in the Art School

Immerse yourself in the Jazz Age in a new multimedia GSA exhibition, examining the influence of the Art Deco style in Scotland during the inter-war period. The show coincides with a new book on the subject written by GSA design history professor, Bruce Peter, which explores the optimism of Art Deco, a style that emerged during “turbulent economic circumstances”, but defied them to envision a better future. Seems pretty relevant. Free, on until 28 April.

Other dates for your diary:

🚚 Monster trucks hit the OVO Hydro
12 April, adult tickets from £35.75

🏃‍♀️ Run a half marathon in Bellahouston Park
Entry from £20, 9.30am.