BBC Friday, May 7, 1999 Published at 17:32 GMT 18:32 UK
Historic Green victory
The Scottish Green Party is celebrating a political landmark
[Picture: Britain's first Green parliamentarian has been elected in
Scotland, hailing the victory as an historic one. }
Robin Harper, principal speaker of the Scottish Green Party, wept as he
won a seat in the Scottish Parliament on the regional list in the
Lothians.
<Picture><Picture>Robin Harper: "This is an absolutely historic
occasion"Clinching his fist and waving it in the air, the 58-year-old
teacher was cheered as he pledged: "Today for Greens in the UK is an
absolutely historic occasion. I'm the first Green!
"Keir Hardie was elected at the end of the last century and the colour
of his century was socialist. For the next century, the colour for the
future of the world has to be green.
<Picture: Vote 99 Special Coverage><Picture>"It's turning that way all
across Europe. We don't have to be in power, we just have to be there to
help things along.
"I will do my best in the Scottish Parliament to help all the other
parties.
<Picture: [ image: Robin Harper celebrated an emotional electoral win
for his party]>Robin Harper celebrated an emotional electoral win for
his party"I will be there as a critical colleague to make sure they will
keep those promises they have made on the environment."
He then joked about not wanting to emulate Gwyneth Paltrow - a reference
to the actress who broke down and sobbed after winning best actress at
the Oscars.
But Mr Harper could not help himself and began crying during his speech.
After winning more than 22,000 votes in the Lothians, he said: "I have
the voters to thank from the bottom of my heart, who understood the
Green campaign."
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