Independent Green Voice

Independent Green Voice (IGV) is a far-right political party in Scotland. Founded by Alistair McConnachie,[5] it was registered with the Electoral Commission in 2003.[6] It received 9,756 regional votes at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the ninth highest of any party.[7]

Independent Green Voice
FounderAlistair McConnachie
LeaderAlistair McConnachie
FoundedMarch 2003
Registered14 March 2003[1]
Headquarters348 West George Street
Glasgow
Scotland
G2 1BP[1]
Ideology
Political positionFar-right[3][4]
ColoursBlack and white
Scottish Parliament
0 / 129
Local government in Scotland
0 / 1,227
Website
www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/manifesto07/aboutus.html

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.[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, the Electoral Commission ruled out an investigation.[10]

Electoral history

Scottish Parliament
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
  1. "View registration". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. "Better off out the EU European Union". www.sovereignty.org.uk.
  3. Janiak, Kevin (11 May 2021). "Greens say voters could have been duped". The Southern Reporter.
  4. Christie, Niall (11 May 2021). "Far-right group used Scottish Greens' branding". Morning Star.
  5. Briggs, Billy (5 May 2021). "Alleged Holocaust denier and ex-BNP activists standing for independent 'Green' party". The Ferret.
  6. Briggs, Billy (23 May 2021). "The Unionist party founder who was barred from UKIP for questioning Holocaust". The National.
  7. Highcock, Chris. "Full votes and seats by party etc - SPE21". Electoral Management Board for Scotland.
    - O'Toole, Emer (11 May 2021). "Did Unionist tactical voting ads stop SNP from winning key target seats?". The National.
  8. "FFS explains: Scottish Greens and Independent Green Voice". The Ferret. 14 May 2021.
  9. Andrews, Kieran (11 May 2021). "Scottish Greens fear fringe party's logo cost them two MSPs". The Times.
    - Widely, Page (17 July 2021). "REVEALED: The Independent Green Voice complaints sent to Electoral Commission". Today News Post.
  10. Duffy, Judith (22 May 2021). "Unionist party gets away with claims of vote-rigging, despite hundreds of complaints". The National. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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