There has been wide range outrage at the Scottish Greens decision not to contest every seat in the General Election. Indeed it seems they are only contesting three; Glasgow North, Falkirk and Edinburgh North and Leith.

For me, it seems like the party is boxing clever. Anyone with half a brain can tell the Greens aren’t suited to FPTP elections but can do well at Holyrood with the Additional Member System. Quite why the party should be required to stand in 59 seats in an election it opposed in order to be regarded as a ‘proper party’ is another question.

The Greens don’t have many mates in the Scottish media. Still, the avalanche of criticism decrying the decision still surprised me. I am not a member and I have no idea how good or bad the party’s finances are but I would guess that it felt it would be too risky to pay for 59 campaigns, most of which they have no chance of winning. And any critic who would run an organisation with a limited budget in such a way shows a distinct lack of forward planning and responsibility.

Murdo Fraser MSP chose to launch into a tirade at Holyrood against the Scottish Greens and this has been mirrored across social media as unionist party supporters see this as caving into the SNP. However, unless these critics cannot point to any other seats that the Scottish Greens have a genuine chance of winning. Likewise, Labour find themselves in the odd position of demanding the Greens contest elections in Scotland but attack them when Caroline Lucas and co fight seats in England.

It would be refreshing if more parties could be honest about their chances. Many candidates from all parties will be required to fight an election with no party resources in an area they know fine well makes it virtually impossible to get elected. Labour candidates in Cheltenham or Tories in Liverpool spring to mind. In truth such people are already ‘paper candidates’ with no visits from party bigwigs or resources. The difference is that the big three UK parties can easily afford to stand candidates in every seat. Indeed, to do otherwise would be unthinkable since it is what they have always done. But would the Tories cease to be a ‘proper party’ if they chose not to stand a candidate in Hackney?

Of course this would not be an issue if we had proportional representation. There would not be wasted votes, provided a threshold was passed. That is why in my opinion it is correct for parties in the position of the Scottish Greens to focus their manpower and attention on local and Holyrood elections where they stand the best chances of seeing their efforts rewarded. This wouldn’t stop them being a legitimate political party. It would just be a lot more honest.