Independent Green Voice (IGV) is a minor far-right political party in Scotland. Founded by Alistair McConnachie,[5] it was registered with the Electoral Commission in March 2003.[6] It received 9,756 regional votes at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the ninth highest of any party, possibly due to voters mistakenly voting for it instead of the Scottish Greens, which had campaigned on a platform in support of Scottish independence, drawing enough votes away from the Scottish Greens to prevent them from receiving an additional two seats in the Scottish Parliament.[7]
Independent Green Voice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founder | Alistair McConnachie |
| Leader | Alistair McConnachie |
| Founded | March 2003 |
| Registered | 14 March 2003[1] |
| Headquarters | c/o Clyde Offices 2nd Floor 48 West George Street Glasgow Scotland G2 1BP[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[3][4] |
| Colours | Black and white |
| Scottish Parliament | 0 / 129
|
| Local government in Scotland | 0 / 1,227
|
| Website | |
| www | |
Overview
editIndependent Green Voice was founded by Alistair McConnachie, a far-right activist and former Scottish organiser for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) who was refused renewal of his membership for questioning the Holocaust.[6]
From its 2003 launch until March 2021, two months before the election, IGV's logo consisted of a right forearm with a clenched hand making the thumbs up sign. On 23 March 2021, the party registered a new logo with the Electoral Commission that consists of an image of a leaf and the words "Independent Green Voice" in capital letters, with "Green" being in a larger font than "Independent" or "Voice".[8] After the election, the Scottish Greens (no relation) claimed that IGV may have deprived them of two seats due to the latter's misleading name and logo.[4] The Scottish Greens reported that they had complained to the Electoral Commission about the name when IGV was first registered.[9] The Greens were 1,000 votes short of gaining a list seat in Glasgow (where IGV received 2,210 votes) and 100 votes short of gaining one in South Scotland (where IGV received 1,690 votes).[3]
On 22 May 2021, the Electoral Commission ruled out an investigation.[10]
Electoral history
editScottish Parliament
edit| Election | Constituency | Regional | Total seats | +/– | Rank | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||||
| 2003 | 1,300 | 0.1 | 0 / 73
|
0 / 129
|
 20th
|
Not in parliament | ||||
| 2007 | 496 | 0.00 | 0 / 56
|
0 / 129
|
 30th
|
Not in parliament | ||||
| 2021 | 9,756 | 0.36 | 0 / 56
|
0 / 129
|
 9th
|
Not in parliament | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Registration summary - Independent Green Voice". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Better off out the EU European Union". Independent Green Voice. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ a b Janiak, Kevin (11 May 2021). "Greens say voters could have been duped". The Southern Reporter. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ a b Christie, Niall (11 May 2021). "Far-right group used Scottish Greens' branding". Morning Star. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Briggs, Billy (5 May 2021). "Alleged Holocaust denier and ex-BNP activists standing for independent 'Green' party". The Ferret. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ a b Duffy, Judith (23 May 2021). "The Independent Green Voice founder who was barred from UKIP". The National. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Full votes and seats by party etc - SPE21". Electoral Management Board for Scotland. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- O'Toole, Emer (11 May 2021). "Did Unionist tactical voting ads stop SNP from winning key target seats?". The National. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021. - ^ Ferret Journalists (14 May 2021). "FFS explains: Scottish Greens, Independent Green Voice and the lost MSPs". The Ferret. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Andrews, Kieran (11 May 2021). "Scottish Greens fear fringe party's logo cost them two MSPs". The Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- Widely, Page (17 July 2021). "REVEALED: The Independent Green Voice complaints sent to Electoral Commission". Today News Post. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021. - ^ Duffy, Judith (22 May 2021). "Unionist party gets away with claims of vote-rigging, despite hundreds of complaints". The National. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.