THE new co-leader of the Scottish Greens has dismissed suggestions the party should align its manifesto with the SNP to help secure a second independence referendum.

Lorna Slater poured cold water on the idea of common wording for the 2021 Holyrood election, a move some independence supporters believe would boost the Yes campaign.

She also argued entering into any formal Holyrood coalition with the SNP in future would be a “terrible idea”.

In the 2016 Scottish election, the Greens and SNP used quite different forms of words on the issue of independence, which critics said undermined calls for the UK Government to grant a fresh plebiscite.

READ MORE: Revealed: Scottish Greens have lost 30% of their members since indyref rise

The LibDems argued the Greens did not have a mandate to call for a fresh vote.

In June, a leading SNP figure suggested the two parties coordinate the wording in their 2021 manifestos to help overcome the issue.

Kevin Pringle, a former head of communications for the SNP and a special adviser to Alex Salmond when he was first minister, made the suggestion in a newspaper column.

He said: “The best way forward for the Yes movement would be for the SNP and Greens to have compatible wording on proposing an independence referendum in their respective manifestos for the 2021 Holyrood election.”

However in an interview with The Herald, Ms Slater, a Canadian-born engineer who hopes to become an MSP at the next election, indicated she was against the idea.

She insisted the Greens’ manifesto is “not dictated by party leaders” and is instead formed at a grassroots level by the membership.

But asked if she would personally be open to coordinating on the issue, as many independence supporters might think it made sense, she said: “I don’t think it does make sense. It depends what you mean by co-operate with.

“We’re two very different political parties that have only one policy in common.

“The rest of the time, if you look at the voting records, the SNP vote with the Tories more than they vote with us.

“We vote with Labour more. We have only this one policy in common, really.

“So I don’t think it makes sense to sacrifice everything we believe in for that one policy.”

She added: “I expect our manifesto will call boldly for an independence referendum.”

Ms Slater was elected co-leader of the Scottish Greens alongside long-serving MSP Patrick Harvie last week.

She put the climate emergency centre stage, but argued independence is Scotland’s “life raft away from the disaster that is Brexit”.

The Greens have supported the last three SNP budgets, allowing the minority administration to steer its tax and spending plans through Holyrood.

But asked about the possibility of the two parties entering into a formal coalition in future, Ms Slater said: “The only issue we have in common with the SNP is independence.

“On everything else, we tend to vote differently from them. They vote with the Tories; we vote with Labour.

READ MORE: SNP Health Secretary could have to resign over hospital scandal, says trade unionist

“So I think that that would actually be a terrible idea.

“It would be a terrible idea because we would end up signing up to policies that we don’t agree with at all.

“I think where we are right now is quite a good position to be in, where we can push the SNP on issues that matter to us, but we are not signed up to things that we really don’t agree with.”

She added: “We would like to eventually be the official opposition – that’s what we’re working towards.”

Ms Slater, who lives in Edinburgh, is a former European and council candidate, but currently holds no formal role in politics outside of the Scottish Green Party.