Written
by David Taylor
I
thought that Green Party conference in Harrogate, Yorkshire, might be a fairly low key
affair after the 2017 General Election but it turned out to be the most
sparsely attended of the seven Green conferences I have been to. One motion was
passed by 84 votes to 81 with no more than 200 present; at times people had to
be summoned back from the refreshment bars as conference had become inquorate.
This compares with 2016 where there were well over 1,000 people in the hall at times. The social scene was a bit bleak with less of the traditional shindigs. No disco, young greens music night or open mic. night - although the Big Green Quiz survived.
This compares with 2016 where there were well over 1,000 people in the hall at times. The social scene was a bit bleak with less of the traditional shindigs. No disco, young greens music night or open mic. night - although the Big Green Quiz survived.
Klina
Jordan addressed conference the next day as co-proposer, with Caroline Lucas
and other notables, of a motion which became controversial. Part of it
“welcomed” the fact that many Constituency Labour Parties had signed up to
Klina`s Make Votes Matter campaign for proportional representation.
An
amendment was moved to replace “welcome” by “noted” - after all, nothing Labour
members did could possibly be welcome, could it? It is ironic that the very next week the Young
Labour conference declared that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground if the
planet is to avoid the worst climate change scenario. They passed a motion
calling for all public bodies to divest their funds from fossil fuels and
reinvest in renewables as part of the Just Transition industrial strategy to
decarbonise the economy while ensuring jobs for workers in affected industries.
A welcome move.
Green Party
Governance
Much
of the Green Party`s structure and processes date back to the mid 1970s and for
many years there have been proposals for both procedure and policy making to be
more inclusive, straightforward, efficient, up to date, democratic etc. A Governance Review Group was set up a
few years ago and, as I understand it, was due to come up with some proposals
about now. However, this body seems to have bit the dust after conference
passed a motion backed by the party leadership saying that “further
consideration” of proposals be suspended.
There
is now to be an “Urgent and Holistic Review of how the Green Party operates”.
The Executive Committee and Regional Committee have been instructed
to establish a Commission, chaired by “a respected member” of the party and
appoint ten other members selected for their skills and experience.
They will conduct a complete review and submit their report to conference urgently. Some members have said that the whole thing seems a bit “top down” but the final decision on their proposals will go to a referendum (oh no!) of the full membership.
They will conduct a complete review and submit their report to conference urgently. Some members have said that the whole thing seems a bit “top down” but the final decision on their proposals will go to a referendum (oh no!) of the full membership.
Interesting and
Inspiring Fringes
A
well attended and informative fringe called jointly by Green House think tank,
Lucas Plan Just Transition Group, Green Party Trade Union Group, Green Left and PCS
asked - How can a low carbon economy create new employment? It was pointed out that there are over 31
million workers and they all have a stake in the transition to a low carbon/low
energy economy – not just those in the obvious sectors.
Sam Peters, from the
civil service union PCS, outlined the union`s thinking on the transformation of
the economy by a future radical government and some of the nuts and bolts involved.
These included a Ministry for Jobs, Skills and Social Protection with a
positive role for Job Centres working in partnership with and having democratic
input from the local community. A
National Climate Agency would ensure that environmental costs and benefits were
factored into all projects.
Deputy
Leader Amelia Womack chaired the panel discussion “After Grenfell”. Everyone on the panel agreed that the leaders
of Kensington & Chelsea council had treated their tenants with contempt
over many years; little imagining that a tower block tenant would prove to be
their nemesis. Joe Delaney lived in the next tower block to Grenfell, and only
25 metres away.
He described how he woke up in the early hours to see a raging inferno outside his window. Now a spokesperson for the Grenfell Action Group, Joe told us how he had been going through a difficult period in his life “it doesn`t sound good” he said “but the fight for justice for the Grenfell victims and their families has given me something to live for.”
He described how he woke up in the early hours to see a raging inferno outside his window. Now a spokesperson for the Grenfell Action Group, Joe told us how he had been going through a difficult period in his life “it doesn`t sound good” he said “but the fight for justice for the Grenfell victims and their families has given me something to live for.”
Unfortunately for the
council Joe is not only articulate and determined but his previous career was
in the housing and legal departments of a large council in the north. He is an
inspiring speaker and received a standing ovation.
Another
charismatic speaker was local solicitor Jennifer Nadel, who gave us a brilliant
picture of election night in Kensington when the Tories lost one of their
safest seats. She had seen from early in the day that masses of people from the
estates, including Grenfell, were turning out and queuing at the polls – mostly
people who never usually voted.
As night fell and news of a recount spread,
people began to gather outside the town hall, the crowd soon swelling to
several thousand. When the news of a Labour win was announced everyone was
ecstatic and started the singing and dancing that made it seem like carnival
for the rest of the night. Jennifer said she was deeply moved and although she
had been a Green party candidate said “that night the people won”.
Two Motions Lost
The
Trade Union Congress, often depicted as a lumbering carthorse, is not noted for
its lightning speed in grasping issues and tackling them before you can say
knife. So the unanimous decision to pass a Climate Change Motion at their 2017
conference is a historic step. The motion notes “the irrefutable evidence that
dangerous climate change is driving unprecedented changes to our
environment...” and they advocate various measures for transition to an
environmental sustainable future for all.
An
emergency motion to the Green Conference, although recognising that the TUC
motion did not go far enough, welcomed their new stance and called upon the
Green Party leadership to work with the trade union movement and their political
representatives to campaign for a just transition. This motion was lost. This
reflects the composition of the 2017 conference as the motion would have
probably have passed at previous conferences.
A
motion which advocated emphasising the “environmental dimension” to all issues
and bringing ecological themes into topics “not normally associated with them”
was generally understood as being an attempt to move the party back to the
“good old days” of the Ecology Party. This motion was also defeated. But only
by the narrow margin of 129 to 112.
A Difficult period
ahead for the Green Party
Jonathan
Bartley gave a rip roaring address listing all the reasons he was so proud of
the Green Party and so proud to be a member. The reasons were many and each one
received a thunderous round of applause. Jonathan was proud that we have never
failed to live up to the new Green Party slogan “Speaking Truth to Power” and
we never will, whatever others may do. The Green Party had the second best
General Election result in its history in 2017 and he was pleased to see
Theresa May lose her majority but disappointed with Labour.
All
is not doom and gloom. The Greens still have Caroline Lucas MP. We are still
winning council seats in some areas. The party has three times as many members
as a few years ago and has held on to 65% of people who joined in the Green
Surge. Our members are at the forefront
of the anti-fracking movement and other campaigns on the ground and as the
effects of global warming become more evident the party is bound to attract new
support.
But these positives cannot disguise the fact that the political
landscape has changed and there is the realistic possibility of a Corbyn led
Labour Party with a radical agenda forming a progressive government. The Green
Party is bound to be squeezed electorally.
Paul
Mason has said “Many Labour people, including myself, want to see a strategic
alliance of Labour, the progressive nationalists and the Greens in place, even
if Labour were to win an overall majority”. That, along with PR, is the
stuff to give the troops. Rather than retreat into a glorious isolation we can
campaign for Green Party policies while also working for the election of a
Corbyn led government.
David Taylor is member of
Bridgwater & West Somerset Green Party and a Green Left Supporter
