Two weeks ago, the Scottish Government published their plans for the next year.  

This was the first Programme for Government in four years that the Scottish Greens did not co-design.  

And frankly, it shows.  

Many of the policies we fought hard to deliver a greener, fairer Scotland for all have been shelved.  

We removed unfair peak rail fares – which the First Minister has now decided to bring back. Fares between Alloa and Glasgow are now set to increase by 60% at the end of September. 

We fought for record funding to restore nature – funds which have gone towards projects across Clackmannanshire including protecting coastal and wetland landscapes.  

The First Minister has now decided to cut this transformative fund.  

 Across the board, we have seen devastating cuts to public spending, in areas that will have a real impact on people’s day to life here in Scotland.  

But these cuts will also have a huge impact on our future.  

Raiding the budget for climate action is completely short sighted at a time when we need a bold new approach to climate policy.  

We need to finally stop building unnecessary new roads and more fossil fuel power stations.  

We need to be ramping up the decarbonisation of our homes and public buildings and be putting the future of our planet at the top of our agenda.  

There’s no doubt that the Scottish Government is in a challenging financial context. For years, our budget settlement from Westminster has not kept line with inflation.  

But politics is all about choices.  

In its Programme for Government, the SNP have chosen to hand out tax breaks to big business rather than taking action to make rail more affordable for everyone across Scotland.  

And even where action would not have cost money, they’ve still made bad choices. They’ve chosen to shelve vital legislation on equalities and human rights – dropping moves for a Scottish ban on conversion practices.  

Those decisions cannot be blamed on budget cuts.  

It is not just here in the Scottish Government where bad decisions are being made.  

The Labour Government in Westminster just last week chose to punish pensioners by axing the Winter Fuel Payment. This was another political choice by a Government that could have done differently.  

Our mission, as politicians, should be to leave our society and planet in a better shape for future generations.  

Decisions made by the SNP in Holyrood and Labour in Westminster over the past week suggest that they’ve all but given up on that mission.  

So if it wasn’t clear before what the impact of having Greens in Government was, it’s now plain to see.  

If we weren’t sure of the impact of Greens in Government, we are now.