Tuesday 27 June 2017

Seven Years in the Green Party - What Now?


Written by Dave Taylor 

Seven years ago the election of Caroline Lucas as a Green MP gave hope to thousands who had found themselves politically homeless in the face of a New Labour/Tory/Lib Dem consensus for globalisation, privatisation and austerity. Green Party membership grew rapidly, reaching a peak with the Green Surge before the 2015 General Election. This influx included many former Labour Party members and  the subsequent growth of the Green Party Trade Union group and the Green Left, which were influential in changing  party policy. A change which gave equal weight to social justice and environmental justice so that the party could fight the 2015 general election as an anti-austerity party – gaining a record one and a quarter million votes.

The Green Surge saw tens of thousands of people join the party as part of a mass anti-establishment mood which did not stop with the Green Party; within months an even bigger wave had swept Jeremy Corbyn into the leadership of the Labour party. This inspired many Green Party members to join or rejoin Labour in 2016 although most were sorry to leave. As one Brighton member said “Difficult but has to be done.” Another said “it`s a long shot but is what I have been looking forward to for nearly 30 years - a real socialist party with a couple of dozen MP`s and 100,000 members or more.”

That perspective - of a Labour split - seemed the best outcome we could hope for. After news of the snap General Election an article by Graham Bash appeared in Labour Briefing headed “Against the Odds”. Although he said Labour still had a chance the rest of the piece was a list of reasons – media attacks and ridicule; hostile and backstabbing PLP; decades of defeat since the miners strike; dissension within Momentum etc. – which seemed to virtually admit defeat. Six weeks before the election it was hard to disagree with him, which made the election outcome all the more remarkable.

The combination of a radical manifesto, a brilliant tactical campaign and Jeremy Corbyn`s positive and “steady under fire” leadership was able to capitalise on Theresa May`s arrogance and deprive the Tories of the majority they had taken for granted.  Corbyn and McDonnell may not be magicians but they did do two impossible things before breakfast – win back many Labour voters from UKIP (without pandering to xenophobia) and win seats from the SNP in Scotland. Corbyn is now being described as “battle hardened” which is fair enough  and “fireproof” which is just silly. The battle for the Labour Party has only been paused and will continue shortly.

 “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party
so ran the old typing training exercise (even though most of the trainees were women !) But the question now facing us is  – Which Party ?

The Green Party ?  No doubt the autumn conference will be largely a post mortem on the abysmal election result for the Greens. Many activists, the very people who attend conference, have left to join Labour which leaves those who favour “returning to our green roots” – ie ditching our social justice policies - in a stronger position. Caroline Lucas will probably win the day but what then ?
    
I wrote in a recent issue of Watermelon that “election success [for the Greens] has been steady but modest and at the present rate it is crystal clear that it will be climate crunch time before the party gains any real influence in government.” That day now seems further away than ever and a disturbing pattern can be detected over time. At succeeding  general elections various seats have been tipped as  possible Green wins – Greenwich, Cambridge, Norwich etc – yet ten years later Green candidates in all these seats lose their deposits.

Before the general election, a Green Party councillor commented that “we are right to keep our Green Party identity as the Labour Party has a long way to go and the Green Party needs to be there in case Corbyn is defeated”. Of course, the Green Party is not going to go away; indeed, as the effects of global warming become more evident the party is bound to attract new support. But action on climate damage is needed now – and that means action at government level.  

The Labour Party ?  It is a plain fact that any progressive government will be Labour led and it is now realistic to talk of such a government being elected on a radical agenda for change. A Green parliamentary candidate, (who joined the Greens fifteen years ago at uni and has never been in any other party) has said “Labour`s success is needed if we are going to implement policies to protect the environment because at the moment big business has the whip hand, and as long as it does, nothing is going to change”. He told press reporters  “[this is] a once in a generation – maybe once in a lifetime –chance. It`s time for everyone who wants change to rally around Jeremy Corbyn”

A Labour Party committed to a radical social transformation will face huge challenges from the media, the establishment and not least from the right wing old guard within the party. To stand a chance of success they will need the support of a massive broadly based social movement on the ground right across the country. A “former Tory minister” told the “Observer” last week “You can see real anger. Labour many not be able to form a government without an election, but they could get people out on the streets.” Sections of the ruling class must be thinking that it might not be a bad thing for a Corbyn led government to be plunged into the unholy mess of Brexit and crash and burn; they could then come back with a new set of Tory  mouthpieces.

This seems to me to be a critical moment.  At this point we need to back Corbyn.  Whether by working in the broader social movement on the ground or by actually joining Labour - that is a judgement call for each of us to make. Good luck.    

Dave Taylor is a member of Bridgwater and West Somerset Green Party and a Green Left supporter

13 comments:

  1. How do we break the duopoly?

    I have been around long enough to know that if Tory or Labour has a majority that we are in for the same old same old… They have both proven beyond any reasonable doubt over the last 100 years (I’m not quite that old) that they will just suck more power into Westminster and away from local people who cannot be trusted to ‘share power’ or do the direct bidding of Westminster. Both parties are also completely bereft of any ideas on how to move the country forward into the modern era. (‘Utopia for Realists’ by Rutger Bregman).With all due respect to Jezzer, his speech at Glastonbury was populist and lacked bight, and, sadly, for me, he is not a leader. His policies take us back to the 1970's and not the 2030's.
    At what point in this election did we hear from any of the major parties about reforming parliament and the House of Lords? The one chance of handing power back to the voters. Not a sausage. Why? Because they would both have to share power and the power that they hold by having thousands of Quangos answerable directly to Westminster and not to the public.
    Having just re-read ‘Ruling Britannia’ by Andrew Marr (1995) democracy has steadily eroded even further from before the Blair years.
    What can we do about it? Start voting for people and parties that you genuinely would like to see in a majority coalition. PR and a Lords reform. This is the only way that we are going to progress. And as for global warming? I did not hear one politician of any major party make this an issue. And none of the major parties will do so until we have a major disaster - Just like Grenfell........

    ReplyDelete
  2. surprised so many people buy this rubbish about labour.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is depressing. Makes me feel I'm losing my party but I suppose it's only one point of view.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have invited you wrote something Adele, maybe now is the time?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dave Taylor makes some fundamental errors in his argument that it is time back Jeremy Corbyn. He assumes that those in the Green Party who feel our green roots are important are in favour of ditching our social justice policies but they are not. I would say that core greens who aren’t leaving to join a party with better chances of winning are those who see the inalienable link between environmental and social justice and understand that this works on a global level. He assumes the Labour Party can bring about radical social transformation without electoral reform but they cannot because our FPTP system is what entrenches the whip hand of big business and that won’t change until our political system changes. He assumes that change can only be brought about by central government but he is wrong – real change in both social justice and environmental justice will be brought about by devolving the powers of central government to local levels where people can have a more direct influence. And he implies that broader social movements on the ground should align themselves to parties and politicians but they should not – they should continue to work for the common good whether they are doing it through action on health, refugee rights, housing, nuclear weapons or anything else that needs radical transformation and parties should align themselves to them – not the other way around.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dave Taylor makes some fundamental errors in his argument that it is time back Jeremy Corbyn. He assumes that those in the Green Party who feel our green roots are important are in favour of ditching our social justice policies but they are not. I would say that core greens who aren’t leaving to join a party with better chances of winning are those who see the inalienable link between environmental and social justice and understand that this works on a global level. He assumes the Labour Party can bring about radical social transformation without electoral reform but they cannot because our FPTP system is what entrenches the whip hand of big business and that won’t change until our political system changes. He assumes that change can only be brought about by central government but he is wrong – real change in both social justice and environmental justice will be brought about by devolving the powers of central government to local levels where people can have a more direct influence. And he implies that broader social movements on the ground should align themselves to parties and politicians but they should not – they should continue to work for the common good whether they are doing it through action on health, refugee rights, housing, nuclear weapons or anything else that needs radical transformation and parties should align themselves to them – not the other way around.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was in the Green Party and I still support pretty well all of The Greens policies. I find people like Caroline Lucas and others truly inspiring. But I am now a member of JC's Labour. I'm glad we have Caroline Lucas as an MP, but it is time to support Labour. I struggled in the Party at first, mainly due to veiled warnings from Centrists - there was some truly appalling behaviour against Corbyn supporters early on, but now all the new blood makes it feel like as warm a place to be as The Green Party, with the added sense that we can actually start to change the things that matter. The Green Party could still exist, but it could show its broad support and specific support for Labour during elections. Environmental issues particularly matter to me and I would like to see a powerful Green Labour Group allied to Momentum and Corbyn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was a strong Labour Green Group but it seems to have been totally wiped out. Green issues like sustainability, the environment PR etc are totally alien to LP thinking. That why we need to continue the Green Party struggle.
      Noel Lynch

      Delete
  8. Dave Taylor writes: "Many activists, the very people who attend conference, have left to join Labour which leaves those who favour “returning to our green roots” – ie ditching our social justice policies - in a stronger position."

    I think one thing one can say about many of those ,if there are many, who are leaving the Green Party for Labour is that they fail to understand how indifferent the Labour Party is to sustainability. This is writ large in Labour's support for HS2 and airport expansion.

    Labour does not care if jobs and superficial wealth are created at the expense of the planet. (Yes there are people in the Labour Party who do care but they are in a minority just as it is a minority who are in favour of proportional representation).

    The Green Party unlike Labour is comprehensively progressive and that includes our our unwaveringsupport for social justice.



    ReplyDelete
  9. We still have a very important role to play. let's face it would Labour have ever regained it's socialist credentials without the appetite for a neoliberal opposition that was manifest within the green surge. No matter who we support or who we vote for we are green by nature & it is vital that we celebrate our values in our behaviour & within our communities. We all have much yet do do learn & evolve into if we are to relinquish our roles as consumers & become at peace with our neighbours & our planet. And it is us that will be the pioneers in this quest to seek & demonstrate the harmony we need & find kinder better ways. We have a vital presence both within & outside of politics to positively influence upon the quality of lives & values of everyone #LessStuffMoreHappiness
    P.S. I do have some ideas how with regard to how we might become active in progressing our role/influence, might be nice to discuss at autumn conference..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Given the polarised state of UK Politics and the temporarily suspended bill for a second Scots Indy referendum, it is pretty obvious that some sort of PR will come about as a default setting to resolve the eternal spectre of hung parliaments and secondly to provide federated powers regionally to the Nations of the UK.
    Political Alliances are not needed to bring this about, it is a necessary consequence of the political reality of the last 7 years.
    On Federation, Gordon Brown made a speech in Kircaldy about it which I mention in this Blog.

    http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2017/03/a-fedearated-pound-striling-and.html

    With respect to Brexit, I have been arguing that a Grand Coalition Article 50 Government should be formed for the article 50 Notice period of negotiations I set it out in this Blog here.

    http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2017/06/a-grand-cross-party-grand-coalition.html

    With respect to the current Voting System, I think what is important to realise is that the System we have is an overarching Oligarchy and a competing Elites model of representative democracy.
    Real Direct Democracy that most people think we have sees political Representatives as Constituency Delegates. This is a very important distinction as PR with a representative and not delegative structure with recall etc, means that Democracy is something that is handed down and not something which flows up from the subsidiaries of society. Subsidiarity is the core ethos of Direct Democracy.

    ´´( quotes from Roy Madron​, Super Competent Democracies).

    ‘Democracy is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political
    decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a
    competitive struggle for the people's vote’." Joseph Schumpeter, Quoted
    from Roy Madron, Super Competent Democracies who in turn Cites.
    "Participation, and Democratic Theory" by Carole Pateman. Dr. Pateman
    says that, Schumpeter and his followers: … set the current
    Anglo-American political system as our democratic ideal (with) a
    ‘democratic theory’ that in many respects bears a strange resemblance to
    the anti-democratic arguments of the last (i.e. 19th) century. No
    longer is democratic theory centered on the participation of ‘the
    people'; in the contemporary theory of democracy it is the participation
    of the minority elite that is crucial and the non-participation of the
    apathetic, ordinary man lacking in the feelings of political efficacy,
    that is regarded as the main bulwark against
    instability.

    ´´ http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2015/03/on-may-2015-re-election.

    Roy has published a series of Introductory articles on His Book, re-named super smart Democracies and you will find episode 1 at this link.

    https://medium.com/@ROY_MADRON/getting-the-hang-of-super-smart-democracies-a170bcd41580

    ReplyDelete
  11. When was Greenwich ever a likely win? i ask as Greenwich coordinator! On other matters, I think people need to step back and give this a bit of time - things are moving so quickly, its prudent to take a breath and see whether Labour really has the legs to go the whole way.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm posting this for Dave Taylor because I inadvertently deleted it.

    Apologies to the Greenwich co-ordinator. I meant Lewisham (Deptford) where the Green vote in 2005 was 11% (the other 2 good votes being Brighton Pavilion, over 20% and Norwich 7.3%) It`s South ondon, right ?
    Sorry Adele to make you depressed but we have to face the world as it is rather than what we would like it to be. As Patrick Cockburn wrote in the i newspaper today "We are witnessing a seismic shift in political life and allegiances .... Corbyn and his new more radical Labour Party fit in with a pervasive anti-establishment mood." We will need to find ways of promoting our environmental justice policies against a background of fast moving events and a transformed political reality.
    Dave Taylor

    ReplyDelete