Independent Green Voice
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] |
| Colours | Black and white |
| Scottish Parliament | 0 / 129
|
| Local government in Scotland | 0 / 1,227
|
| Website | |
| www | |
Independent Green Voice (IGV) is a minor far-right political party in Scotland. Founded by Alistair McConnachie,[4] it was registered with the Electoral Commission in March 2003.[5] Following the party's performance at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, there were suggestions that voters may have confused IGV with the Scottish Greens and voted for IGV in error. It was speculated that this could have cost the Scottish Greens two seats in the Scottish Parliament.[6]
Overview
[edit]Independent Green Voice was founded by Alistair McConnachie, a far-right activist and former Scottish organiser for the UK Independence Party (UKIP). UKIP refused to renew his membership for questioning the Holocaust, following comments denying the use of gas chambers to execute jews.[7][8] In 2012, McConnachie founded a pro-Union group called 'A Force for Good'.[9] It was also reported that two candidates, Max Dunbar and John Robertson, were former BNP activists.
2021 Scottish Parliament
[edit]On 23 March 2021, the party registered a new emblem 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".[10] Following the results of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election and the party's surprise performance, there were suggestions that voters may have confused IGV with the Scottish Greens and voted for IGV in error.[11]
The Scottish 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]
The Scottish Greens reported that they had complained to the Electoral Commission about the name when IGV was first registered, although reports note they did not raise concerns about the emblem prior to the election.[12]
On 22 May 2021, the Electoral Commission ruled out a review of the name or emblem, stating "No concerns were raised with us in relation to this application to add an emblem to a long-registered party. We are satisfied that there are clear and sufficient differences betwee the two party's registered names, descriptions and emblems to avoid confusion."[13]
Electoral history
[edit]Scottish 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[14] | 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Elliards, Xander (6 February 2024). "Holocaust-denying ultra-Unionist runs in Scottish council by-election". The National. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Hencke, David (27 February 2001). "UKIP hit by new row over over[sic] Holocaust denial". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Briggs, Billy (5 May 2021). "Alleged Holocaust denier and ex-BNP activists standing for independent 'Green' party". The Ferret. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Did dark money and dirty tactics swing the Scottish election?". OpenDemocracy.net. Open Democracy. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.