Voters rejected cruel, incompetent and climate wrecking governments

Without a doubt, voters across Scotland used the ballot box to firmly oust the Tories out of Westminster.

And the scale of Labour's victory shows the strength of desire to close the door on 14 years of cruel, incompetent and climate wrecking Tory governments.

But that isn't the only story of this election.

The Scottish Greens stood on a platform of action to tackle poverty and the climate emergency.

We called for a £28 billion green investment plan funded by taxes on the super-rich and the big polluters.

And voters showed their support for real change at the ballot box.

Scottish Green candidates came third in seats in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and broke new ground across the whole of Scotland – including in the new Alloa & Grangemouth and the Dunfermline & Dollar seats.

And Green candidates in England secured fantastic results building on previous elections to return four new Green MPs to Westminster.

Across the whole of the UK, hundreds of thousands of people voted for brave and bold policies that will build a greener, fairer future. Despite the election being held under the unfair First Past the Post voting system, more people voted Green than ever before.

Yet despite this strong voice from the electorate and many promises from the incoming Labour Government, it already looks like there'll be little change to the status quo in Westminster.

Last week's King's Speech was a golden opportunity for the new prime minister to lay out a bold and ambitious vision, and finally close the door on the last 14 years of Tory environmental vandalism.

Keir Starmer could have chosen to immediately lift hundreds of thousands of children and their families out of poverty by scrapping the two child benefit cap, but instead he's relying on the myth of trickle down economics to put food on the table and pay people's energy bills.

He could have announced real, radical action to protect our climate and nature. But instead, Labour's plans for Great British Energy lack critical detail.

And following confusing announcements in the press last week, we're still waiting on Labour's final position on banning new North Sea oil and gas licenses – even though we know that fossil fuels are the largest contributor to global climate change.

Once again, it is business as usual for this incoming UK Government – prioritising wealth and unlimited growth over the wellbeing of people and planet.

Put bluntly, we cannot afford another five years of tepid status quo politics – and nor can our planet.

Green voices in all our Parliaments have never been so vital to hold those in power to account. Support for a greener, fairer Scotland is growing and there's renewed hope for a better future for people and planet.

So as Keir Starmer and his new Cabinet settles onto the Government benches in Westminster, he must not forget the resounding calls for ambitious green policies across the UK, we'll be watching carefully.