(Image: Steve Welsh/ PA Wire)
Scottish Green figures have admitted they were surprised Gillian Mackay was invited to SNP conference and do not expect “a standing ovation” when she appears before its members in Aberdeen.
Ms Mackay will take part in a discussion on the route to independence on Saturday, in an unusual cross-party appearance at a time when relations between the Greens and SNP are markedly different from the previous parliamentary term.
Her invitation has already proved controversial among some SNP members, with activists previously telling The Herald that “the optics are awful” of giving a Green leader a platform in Aberdeen because of the party’s position on North Sea oil and gas.
READ MORE:
- SNP conference: Green leader invite angers members
- Ross Greer says Zionism is racist and Israel's creation was ethnic cleansing
- Government challenged over definition of ‘green’ data centres amid 'mixed messages'
- Scottish Greens urged to suspend MSP over ‘vile antisemitic’ post
Ms Mackay is due to join the “Our Right To Decide – Panel Session on the Pathway to Independence” at 11.40am alongside former SNP MP Tommy Sheppard and Believe in Scotland chief executive Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp.
The event will be chaired by SNP deputy leader Keith Brown, who has previously said the party wants to “rebuild the political cooperation that characterised 2014”.
The timing gives the appearance added significance, with the discussion taking place just hours before John Swinney delivers his keynote conference speech at 3.05pm, when independence is expected to be at the heart of his message.
One Green source told The Herald: “It was a surprise to find out Gillian is speaking, but I think it’s a good thing.
“SNP supporters alone are not enough to win independence. Not even SNP and Green supporters together are.
“If we’re serious about getting there we need to be prepared to work together for it and reach beyond party politics altogether.
“That doesn’t mean that we stop pressuring the SNP on the areas where they fall short, but independence is bigger than any party.”
First Minister John Swinney (centre), Brian Cox (centre left) and co-leaders of the Scottish Greens Ross Greer (second row centre) and Gillian Mackay (centre right) taking part in a march and rally for independence organised by Believe in Scotland in March. (Image: Jane Barlow/ PA Wire)
Asked whether there were concerns Ms Mackay could face booing or heckling from SNP activists, the source said there were not.
They argued Ms Mackay’s own journey on independence, having voted No in the 2014 referendum, could make her particularly useful in winning over Scots who remain unconvinced.
“Gillian voted No in 2014 but that makes her a really good person to be speaking to undecided voters and to be winning support from people who had the same reservations as she did,” the source said.
Another Green source acknowledged that relations between the two parties were “not what they were in the last session”, adding that the Greens were proving to be a “slightly more fierce opposition” than the SNP may have expected.
But they said the differences should not prevent cooperation on their shared constitutional goal.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that we should stop working together on the one issue that unites us,” they said.“I think it’s quite good that they’ve invited Gillian. I can appreciate why people in the SNP might feel a bit sceptical about it, but this kind of working together is exactly the kind of thing that we should be doing.”
On Ms Mackay’s likely reception, the source added: “I’m not expecting SNP members to give Gillian a standing ovation. We wouldn’t do the same if John came to our conference.
“But I would be disappointed if there wasn’t a welcoming environment. I would expect people to be at least pleasant.”
They described the invitation as an example of “quite grown-up politics” and suggested Ms Mackay could act as a useful mediator between the two parties.
The SNP-Green relationship has changed considerably since the Bute House power-sharing agreement collapsed in 2024, when Humza Yousaf ended the deal and removed Green ministers from government.
The Greens have since adopted a more openly critical approach to the Scottish Government, while tensions over North Sea oil and gas have been particularly pronounced in the north-east.
The row over Ms Mackay’s appearance intensified this week when Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay called on Mr Swinney to block her from attending.
The SNP and Greens both rejected the demand, with a Green spokesperson insisting that “the issue of Scottish independence is bigger than any one party”.
Green MSP Iris Duane also said she had not expected Ms Mackay to receive an invitation but welcomed the decision.
“I wasn’t aware that there was going to be an invitation, I’ll put it that way,” she told The Herald, “But I think it’s positive that she was invited.”
Ms Duane said cross-party interaction at political conferences was healthy even where parties disagreed, and argued that the wider independence movement needed to work together to secure another vote.
But she also criticised the SNP’s previous approach to mandates for independence.
“I’m old enough to remember when we were promised a referendum in 2023, and then we were promised a referendum before that,” she said, “I do believe the SNP, as a parliamentary party, believes in independence, but choosing to take ownership of that rather than promoting that as a cross-party initiative, as it was in 2014, is not helping us on a broader level.”
An SNP source played down suggestions Ms Mackay could receive a hostile reception.
“I’m not even remotely concerned,” they said when asked about the possibility of heckling.
The source said there was a growing recognition that parties with very different political views would have to cooperate around a shared constitutional objective.
They also acknowledged the SNP had spent recent years concentrating more heavily on its own difficulties.
“You could probably argue that over the last couple of years we’ve been focusing more on sorting our own house out,” the source said.
They added that while the SNP remained the “central focal point” of the independence campaign, there was a much wider movement around it.
That echoes the party’s official position ahead of conference, with an SNP spokesman previously saying its independence movement was “broader than just ourselves” and welcoming representatives of both the Greens and Plaid Cymru.
Ms Mackay’s appearance will therefore be more than an unusual conference photo opportunity.
Coming hours before Mr Swinney sets out his own message to delegates, it will test whether two parties which have become significantly more critical of one another can put those differences aside when it comes to the constitutional cause they still share.
A party spokesperson for the Scottish Greens said: “The issue of Scottish Independence is bigger than any one party, and the Scottish Greens believe that constructive conversations on how we achieve this for Scotland and what the future as an independent country looks like are important to have. Gillian is looking forward to attending and participating in the panel discussion.”
The SNP has been contacted for comment.