With the Lib Dems in Coalition with the Tories, the Green has policies to please those who feel abandoned by other left-of-centre parties.
Following Caroline Lucas’s historic victory in Brighton Pavilion at the last election, there was an understandable air of celebration surrounding last weekend’s Green Party conference. The general election saw an end to three decades without a political presence in Westminster, which made for a good amount of collective back-patting.
Lucas herself appeared keen not to dwell on her victory for too long, instead making a point of extending a welcoming hand to all those Labour voters who might feel disillusioned by their Party’s place in the current political scene:
“There are Labour members who’ve finally realized that, even with the passing of Brown and Blair, they are still stuck in the New Labour nightmare. Many Labour supporters know that the Party will never again truly represent them, for all those… who still believe it’s imporant to defend the vulnerable, to stand up to big business and vested interests… the Green Party is your natural home.”
She had a similar message for Lib Dem voters, welcoming to the Green Party all those who felt “anguish and betrayal” at Clegg’s decision to turn his supposedly equality-orientated party into “an apologist for the most brutal, savage cuts in a generation.”
Could Caroline Lucas be right? Time will tell, but the Party certainly has policies to please those who feel abandoned by other left-of-centre parties. The Greens’ policy on banking reform, for example, could find approval with those put off by the larger parties’ ‘soft’ approach towards financial institutions which precipitated the worst collapse since the Great Depression, were then rescued by public funds, and now prosper again, virtually unreformed.
Similarly, the Party’s opposition to the use of terrorism law may appeal to many liberal-minded voters. Lucas said:
“The Government has used [terrorist] attacks to introduce ever more draconian measures that undermine all our civil liberties.”
Policies on a ‘living minimum wage’, promoting workplace democracy and improving gender equality in the professional sphere represent real progressive politics, and – if nothing else – the Party is undoubtedly the natural home for those voters who want to see concrete action on climate change. Labour’s poor environmental record and the Coalition’s almost complete disregard for even the most basic green initiatives are more reasons why the Greens stand in a well-placed position. Indeed, Lucas’ party is now the only one that reflects public opinion in opposing the renewal of the costly Trident nuclear program.
The Green Party certainly has a long way to go before it is a real force in Westminster, but in these confused political times of LibCon coalitions and backpedalling Blairites, they are better positioned than ever to forge a real campaign to reignite the lost British left.
105 Responses to “Is the Green Party now the natural home for disaffected lefties?”
Publicist
I think one thing that is certain is that the Greens will experience an upsurge in popularity next election. Now that it has been proven that the Greens can have someone in Parliament, and following the betrayal of thousands of Lib Dem voters, I imagine there will be (especially with very active and targeted campaigning) a mass exodus to the Greens especially from the student demographic, especially if the Labour leadership race result turns out as disappointingly as it is likely to. (Should specifically Diane Abbott win the race, I would predict a smaller Green gain, with many of the potential Green voters supporting Abbott’s Labour Party instead. Stranger things have happened, but not many.) It is vital for the Greens if they want to secure more seats that they adopt a five-pronged approach.
1. Restate time and again that it has now been proven that the Greens can win seats. Put it on billboards.
2. Run candidates not only in areas with a history of Green support but also Lib-Dem support, and even more-so ones with high student populations. Make sure that they are aware that by voting Lib-Dem they got a Tory government.
3. Campaign around issues that formerly were key pledges in the Lib Dem manifesto. Fact-based drugs policy and the abolition of student fees, in addition to the aforementioned opposition to Trident, are important ones. The drugs policy one is difficult to publicise because of historic scaremongering, but it will, I believe, be important in capturing that betrayed-Lib-Dem demographic. Nationalisation and government-led alternative-energy manufacturing (sometimes combined – Vestas was a sorely missed opportunity) will be important rallying issues too.
4. Make inroads into the unions. They shouldn’t expect a huge return right away – Labour and unions have grown up and supported each-other for over a century (though in one direction far more than the other). But it is important that they try to show union members, especially in the constituencies stipulated earlier, that the Greens support them and their struggles. I’m not saying it has never happened, but I’ve never heard about a Green presence on a picket.
5. The ‘need for public sector cuts’ fallacy has been ingrained into the collective consciousness of society at large now. It will be important for the Greens to offer alternatives that mean the rank and file of the working class don’t pay for the recession. Trident is again a big one, and would save trillions. The floor has fallen out of public support for Trident, and being the only party to share that opinion with the public will be a massive boon. Championing things like the mansion tax, which target the unpopular (and deserving of reprisal) upper class will also help. the Lib-Dems centrist economic policies were always cruddy (and oddly ineffable) anyway.
These steps are going to be essential if the Greens want to achieve any gains. The next election – if there is anything left of this country – will almost certainly be the best opportunity for Green growth in the party’s history. The Faustian betrayal by the Lib-Dems of their supporters gives the Greens the chance to become a major party, so at least something good will come out of it.
Mark Thomas
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punkscience
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Kev
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Paul Rhoades
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