Andrea Carey of Lewisham Green Party, a Green Left supporter talks to Green Left’s Mike Shaughnessy about why she is standing for Deputy
Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Tell me a
little about your background and why you joined the Green party?
My background
is working for charities - e.g The Red Cross & a charity for people with
learning disabilities, and working as an advocate for community organisations
supporting people to have a voice - advocating for mental health services
users, disabled people, older people looked after children, asylum
seekers/refugees, and currently empowering Deptford through the creation of a
Neighbourhood Plan.
I joined the
Green Party because it is the only Party which properly addresses Climate
Change, and also because it had the best policies across a whole range of
issues which fitted well with my own views on these issues.
Why did you
decide to join Green Left?
To join others
who support eco-socialism - and push for things like the citizens income.
If you are
elected as Deputy Leader, what will be your priorities?
Improving
Democracy and Equality issues within the
Green Party - particularly supporting disabled people's rights and bringing forward
a women's rights policy.
Climate Change
cross-party women's event to push the GP Green New Deal across to the other
parties.
Get the draft
motion to suspend the right to buy in all English Cities put forward by
Caroline Lucas or by Natalie Bennett.
What is your
opinion of the electoral pact between the Greens and Lib Dems at last year’s
General Election?
It didn't help
and it didn't work as the Lib Dems position on the EU was too polarised! The only thing that will help us going
forward is a change in the voting system to proportional representation.
It is likely
that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism
will be brought back to the Green party’s autumn conference for adoption. Do you
support this definition?
No - I was a
co-proposer of Les Levido's policy motion opposing the IHRA 'definition' of
antisemitism and reaffirming BDS (Boycotts Divestment Sanctions against Israel),
in January 2016:
"Title:
Reaffirm support for BDS and oppose a key IHRA example
Synopsis: The
GreenParty reaffirms its long-standing support for the BDS campaign, which aims
to end international support for Israel’s regime of settler colonialism and
apartheid. On those grounds, the phrase ‘apartheid Israel’ is anti-racist – not
antisemitic, as falsely implied by an example in the IHRA Working Definition of
antisemitism.
Text of motion:
1. TheGreen Party reaffirms its commitment to promote active participation in the Palestinian-led campaign for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and companies complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. (See motions passed at the spring2008 and autumn 2014 conferences, ‘Israel’ ground Invasion’ in upper right-hand corner, (https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/ip). We further endorse the BDScampaign’s peaceful aim: ‘to pressure Israel to comply with international law and to end international support for Israel’s regime of settler colonialism and apartheid’ (https://bdsmovement.net/call)
2. For several years the UK government has attempted to prohibit public bodies from boycotting Israel and companies complicit in its violations of international law. It now plans new legislation for this purpose, as well as for a reverse boycott: to prohibit local authorities from contracting with companies that divest from Israel. We will work with other groups to oppose such government restrictions on organisations exercising their democratic right and ethical responsibility.
3. On the
website of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA),a Working
Definition of Antisemitism includes several examples, e.g. ‘Denying the Jewish
people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence
of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour’. This contentious example has been
deployed for false accusations of antisemitism against the BDS campaign and its
keyphrase ‘apartheid Israel’, especially to deny venues for public events or to
restrict speakers. The Green Party asserts that the BDS campaign’s aims are
anti-racist and rejects the above example of supposed antisemitism.
How do you rate
the government’s handling of the Covid 19 pandemic?
They should be
put on trial for corporate manslaughter!
Compare BJ with the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and you
have a complete analysis of everything the UK government did wrong: We should have closed our airports in
February. Following the Pandemic WHO
announcement in January - stocks of PPE should have been ordered and plans
drawn up for the closing of schools/businesses and the introduction of social
distancing.
If Airports/bus
stations/train stations had been disinfected from the start (early March) and
flights stopped or people put in quarantine before 14th March we would have
very few deaths just like NZ. There was
a callous and deliberate policy to accept 20K deaths as if this was OK -
knowing full well that the brunt of this would be borne by the elderly - hence
the Government's total lack of concern with dispatching elderly people from
hospitals back into the community without testing them.
It makes me
want to scream with rage and cry with sorrow that over 43,000 people have died
due to the sheer incompetence and total disregard for the health and well-being
of the nation this Government has shown!
How do you
think the Green party should position itself electorally in the immediate
future?
On the Left -
As the only Party promising real action on climate change and offering social
justice and a kinder more compassionate society - a society based on collaboration
and care of people and planet - the only international party that will do this.
What is your
vision for the Green party over the next few years?
Get support for
the suspension of the Right to Buy.
Push all the
MP's to get the Government to - support the recovery of the economy with the GP
Green New Deal - build 250,000 council social homes per year over the next 5
years to meet the demand of the 1.5 million waiting for homes -support
Proportional Representation-Introduce a Citizen's income-Stop selling arms
around the world and particularly to Israel and holding arms conventions in the
UK - Start working towards multi-lateral nuclear disarmament to begin the
process of world peace.
Green Party members will be voting throughout August.
Links
Website:
Andrea speaking
on Tidemill Garden after Lewisham Council approved the plans to demolish
Reginald House (2-30A Reginald Road) and Tidemill Wildlife Garden. Campaigners
have asked the Mayor of London to call in the application.
This is more like it. As a former member and activist, I watched the party's drift to the right with dismay. In December, I voted Labour for the first and probably only time because the Greens' obsession with overturning the vote to leave the EU and its pact with the ultracapitalist LibDems turned me off. Maybe if Ms Carey is elected and the Greens' left wing become more prominent, the party will have more appeal.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of electoral pacts, the pro Europe arrangement of 2019 with the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru - our direct competitors - was considered by our local party, in principle and in terms of the intra-party agreement. We could have rejected it at the outset but we didn't; we could have rejected the allocation of constituencies, but we agreed to them, seeing merit in a broad Remain alliance. [None were successful in Labour vs Conservative contests, though we had a big boost where we had the candidate, and we campaigned independently elsewhere]. The key issue was, and is, the Green Party relationship with Labour: for the future, that could be more fruitful, and I would still support the Green Party's position of a potential Progressive Alliance in the right circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI can't see Labour agreeing to it, it is in their rules, and no-one else is worthy of our support, and even then I don't like the look of the direction of the Labour party under Starmer. It is a dead duck.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a Green/LibDem alliance. It was a cross-party electoral arrangement to stand one anti-Brexit candidate in constituencies where there was a chance of succeeding. We nearly managed to oust the Tory in Finchley and Golders Green but Labour were determined to scupper it even though they had no chance of winning. It's hard to trust anyone who says it was a Green/LibDem progressive alliance. It wasn't and that was made clear. It was the last chance to fight against Brexit or hard Brexit in a selected choice of constituencies where we could have made a difference. It needed some cooperation from Labour and we could have helped anti-Brexit Labour candidates into our other 2 constituencies. They opted to let the Tories win instead. It was too important an issue and opportunity to ignore.
ReplyDeleteIt was very damaging, I've lost count of the number of ex Labour people saying they won't join us because of it. And for what? It achieved nothing, and was too pro EU, we need to forget about that, and get on with tackling the many issues that need urgent attention, whether we are in or out of the EU.
ReplyDelete