Independent Green Voice Explained
| Independent Green Voice |
| Colorcode: | Black |
| Leader1 Title: | Founder |
| Leader1 Name: | Alistair McConnachie |
| Leader2 Title: | Leader |
| Leader2 Name: | Alistair McConnachie |
| Foundation: | March 2003 |
| Headquarters: | c/o Clyde Offices
2nd Floor
48 West George Street
Glasgow
Scotland
G2 1BP |
| Registered: | 14 March 2003[1] |
| Position: | Far-right |
| Colours: | Black and white |
| Seats1 Title: | Scottish Parliament |
| Seats2 Title: | Local government in Scotland |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Country2: | the United Kingdom |
Independent Green Voice (IGV) is a minor far-right political party in Scotland. Founded by Alistair McConnachie,[2] it was registered with the Electoral Commission in March 2003.[3] 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.[4]
Overview
Independent 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.[3]
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".[5] 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.[6] The Scottish Greens reported that they had complained to the Electoral Commission about the name when IGV was first registered.[7] 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).[8]
On 22 May 2021, the Electoral Commission ruled out an investigation.[9]
Electoral history
Scottish Parliament
| Election | Constituency | Regional | Total seats | +/– | Rank | Government |
|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|
| 2003 | 1,300 | 0.1 | | | | | 20th | |
|---|
| 2007 | | 496 | 0.00 | | | | 30th | |
|---|
| 2021 | | 9,756 | 0.36 | | | | 9th | |
|---|
|
Notes and References
- Web site: Registration summary - Independent Green Voice . 27 August 2021. The Electoral Commission. 26 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210926063127/http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Registrations/PP293. live.
- Web site: Alleged Holocaust denier and ex-BNP activists standing for independent 'Green' party. Briggs. Billy. The Ferret. 5 May 2021. 26 August 2021. 26 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210826213336/https://theferret.scot/independent-green-voice-candidates-include-ex-bnp/. live.
- News: The Independent Green Voice founder who was barred from UKIP. Duffy. Judith. 23 May 2021. The National. 26 August 2021. 26 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210826213337/https://www.thenational.scot/news/19322533.independent-green-voice-founder-barred-ukip/. live.
- Web site: Full votes and seats by party etc - SPE21 . Electoral Management Board for Scotland . 9 May 2021 . 2021-09-07. 2022-05-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20220531152146/https://www.emb.scot/news/article/22/full-votes-and-seats-by-party-etc-spe21?newsID=22. live.
- News: Did Unionist tactical voting ads stop SNP from winning key target seats?. O'Toole. Emer. The National. 11 May 2021. 26 August 2021. 26 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210826201331/https://www.thenational.scot/news/19293533.snp-lose-target-seats-unionist-tactical-voting-ads/. live.
- News: FFS explains: Scottish Greens, Independent Green Voice and the lost MSPs. Ferret Journalists. The Ferret. 14 May 2021. 26 August 2021. 26 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210826213336/https://theferret.scot/ffs-scottish-greens-independent-green-voice/. live.
- News: Far-right group used Scottish Greens' branding. 11 May 2021. Christie. Niall. Morning Star. 26 August 2021. 26 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210826213345/https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/scot-greens-electoral-commission-complaints. live.
- News: Andrews. Kieran. Scottish Greens fear fringe party's logo cost them two MSPs. The Times. 11 May 2021. subscription. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827072154/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scottish-greens-fear-fringe-partys-logo-cost-them-two-msps-wpchc78hw. live.
- News: REVEALED: The Independent Green Voice complaints sent to Electoral Commission. Widely. Page. 17 July 2021. Today News Post. 28 August 2021. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827051816/https://todaynewspost.com/news/world/uk-news/revealed-the-independent-green-voice-complaints-sent-to-electoral-commission/. live.
- News: Greens say voters could have been duped. Janiak. Kevin. 11 May 2021. The Southern Reporter. 26 August 2021. 26 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210826213336/https://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/politics/greens-say-voters-could-have-been-duped-3232604. live.
- News: Unionist party gets away with claims of vote-rigging, despite hundreds of complaints. Duffy. Judith. 22 May 2021. 27 August 2021. The National. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827075913/https://www.thenational.scot/news/19322520.unionist-party-gets-away-claims-vote-rigging/. live.
