THE GREENS are targeting Glasgow in the Holyrood election with high hopes of doubling the number of MSPs from the city.

The party launches its election campaign in the city today with expectations a breakthrough is possible following the recruitment of thousands more members in the last two years.

Glasgow has elected Patrick Harvie as a Green MSP at each of the last three Holyrood elections and he is looking to push the greens further forward and Glasgow is a key target.

Mr Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow and party co-convenor, is also standing in the Kelvin constituency as well as topping the party list in the city.

He said: “In the European elections there was a three way split between the SNP, Labour and the Greens in Kelvin.”

He has identified issues the Greens have campaigned on as being of importance in the city.

He said: “Take Public sector rents. People are being gouged.

“As well as reputable landlords there are exploitative landlords offering over priced, sub standard properties.

“It was Green pressure in the Scottish Parliament and from others campaigning externally that forced the SNP to act and we want to do more.

Public transport is another core Green issue.

He said: “We have seen SPT budget going down and we will be insisting the Subway modernisation needs to go ahead as planned.

“Glasgow could be a dramatically safer, greener and healthier city with a decent public transport network.

“It also has to be an affordable public transport network.

“For the price of an annual season ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh you can travel all year on public transport throughout all of Germany. Cost is an issue.”

In the 2011 election the Greens won 6% of the regional vote in Glasgow with 12,454 votes, giving it one MSP.

It was fourth behind the Tories who polled almost 300 more votes.

To earn another the vote would need to go up considerably above its highest which was 14,570 in 2003 and for the SNP to fail to get as high a second vote as on the first ballot.

Mr Harvie thinks that following the referendum campaign and the increase in party membership there is a potentially much larger Green vote in the city.

He hoped and is planning for a new expanded team of activists getting the message out and persuading people to vote Green.

There are two ways the party could increase their number.

Mr Harvie could win the Kelvin constituency from Sandra White of the SNP and also win one on the regional list vote.

Or it would increase the regional list 2nd vote enough to take two seats.

The second MSP, should they win, would be Zara Kitson, a prominent independence campaigner for the Greens and member of pro yes arts group the National Collective who has stood as a candidate in the Dunfermline by election in 2013.