SCOTTISH Greens will re-commit to scrapping Scotrail’s first-class seats in their Holyrood manifesto.

The pledge today comes on the back of figures released under freedom of information to the party, revealing that just 1 per cent of first-class seats were sold in 2021/22, 1.73 per cent in 2022/23 and only 39,000 — or 1.95 per cent — of the two million first-class tickets available were sold in 2023/24.

Branding first-class carriages a “waste of space and time,” Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay said: “If 98 per cent of first-class seats are not even being used then what is the point in them?

“If a train is publicly owned, then every part of it should be working in the public interest, but far too often passengers are forced to stand in overcrowded carriages while first class sits almost empty. 

“That is completely unfair, inefficient and out of step with the kind of public transport system Scotland needs. 

“Our public railways should be about getting people where they need to go, not keeping empty seats reserved for the few.”