Patrick Harvie said his party’s influence led to the bans on fracking and the smacking of children Andrew Milligan/PAThe left-wing figurehead of the Scottish Greens will today say his party is leading radical change in Scotland while claiming credit for a string of policies embraced by Nicola Sturgeon. Patrick Harvie, who co-convenes the party, will say that others are “playing catch up” and cite victories for his group of six MSPs at Holyrood. They include successfully pushing for bans on fracking and the physical punishment of children, securing extra cash for councils in exchange for allowing the SNP to pass its budget and Ms Sturgeon’s plans for a publicly-owned energy company. Mr Harvie, an MSP since 2003, has seen his party’s influence grow since last year when the SNP fell short of a majority. The Green tally rose from two MSPs to six,…

Source: The Times October 20, 2017 23:15 UTC