IF you want to know the difference that the Scottish Greens were making in government, just look at some of the policies that the SNP have backed away from over the last few weeks.

From the big climate cuts they have made – like the £460 million that has been raided from our Scotwind green energy fund and the £23m that has been taken from the walking, wheeling and cycling budget – it feels like the SNP are happy to tear up their climate credentials and so much of the progress that was under way.

Some of it has hit home pretty strongly. When I was a minister, one of my favourite aspects of the job was overseeing the distribution of the Nature Restoration Fund, which supported really exciting and inspiring projects all over the country.

It was a fund that the Scottish Greens secured through negotiations, with £65m worth of green investment in the wildlife, nature and environment around us.

READ MORE: Scottish Greens cast doubt on whether they will support SNP Budget

It meant working closely with our local authorities and some of the best and most respected conservation groups in the country to build greener communities.

Sometimes it meant planting trees and developing peaceful green spaces in inner cities, and sometimes it meant heading out to our vast and iconic national parks or developing natural flood protections for our river banks. It does vital work that enhances our communities and wellbeing.

Yet, only two weeks ago, the Scottish Government asked council officers to take money from it to fund other spending.

It’s not just our environmental policy that is paying the price for the change in government. It’s also the work that was under way on equality.

Among the announcements buried away in this week’s Programme for Government was the decision to scrap the Human Rights Bill and to drop a commitment to delivering a Scottish ban on so-called conversion therapy – instead outsourcing the work to Westminster and a Labour government that many LGBT+ people simply don’t trust.

At best, it will mean further delays, forcing even more people to endure the pain and abuse of being told that they are not good enough and that they need to change who they are. But it’s also possible that it will lead nowhere at all and will remove Scotland’s influence from the process – a really odd move for a party that is committed to Scottish independence.

(Image: PA)

Then there was the decision to halt the rollout of universal free school meals for primary school pupils, continuing the stigma of means testing and undermining our efforts to tackle child poverty.

Some of the U-turns have genuinely shocked me. I did a bit of a double take when I found out they were scrapping free bus travel for people seeking asylum before it had even begun.

This was something they had explicitly committed to and budgeted for. The people it would help are among the most marginalised in our country and are hammered by cruel and unnecessary restrictions by the Home Office. So many people had worked so hard to get us to that point and the amount of money that the cut would save is so minuscule in terms of a government budget.

It has been frustrating, difficult and sad to watch so much work being undone. A lot of us have felt angry watching it, but at the same time we have also felt determined.

There is still a lot of important work in the pipeline, like the Housing Bill that my colleague Patrick Harvie (below) led on to introduce permanent protections and rent controls for tenants across Scotland, and the Natural Environment Bill that I began which can play a pivotal role in halting the erosion of our iconic nature and biodiversity.

(Image: Patrick Harvie, image from PA)

We need to make sure these bills are as robust as possible and that they aren’t diluted or discarded like so much else has been.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. We certainly had some difficult moments in government. Over the course of trying to introduce the Deposit Return Scheme, I experienced the full force of Westminster’s obstruction and sabotage.

But I don’t regret it. We achieved a lot, although some of the lasting impact stands to be eroded by an increasingly tepid SNP who seem to be scared of their own shadow and afraid to make the bold changes that they know are needed.

The financial backdrop is really difficult. But that only underlines why we need to make the right choices.

READ MORE: Douglas Ross torn down in free school meals row as SNP blame 'austerity agenda'

The SNP cannot undo 14 years of Tory cuts or make the Labour government follow a different economic policy. But they can choose to cut the handouts they are giving to big business or use a fraction of the money they are spending on major road building projects to fund cheaper trains and bus passes for people who have fled some of the world’s worst war zones.

They can choose to go further and faster on progressive taxation and build on the fairer tax reforms that were secured by the Scottish Greens.

We can have a great future. Scotland can be a fairer, greener and independent country where everyone is able to live safely and happily with a warm, affordable home powered by clean green energy. The SNP may be moving away from that vision, but the Scottish Greens never will.