We now have an insurgent left-wing Labour party in this country - does this make the Greens redundant?
I went to the Green Party conference this weekend expecting my growing ambivalence towards the party to be reinforced.
We now have an insurgent left-wing Labour party in this country, and that’s a good thing; a Corbyn government would radically improve material conditions for millions of people, and for any of us on the left to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. I have become increasingly frustrated by many Green Party members’ refusal to engage with this new landscape and the dilemmas it throws up.
But while I did find a mood much less dynamic than previous conferences, I also found reasons to be positive.
In his speech, Jonathan Bartley claimed ‘I believe that we will be the most influential party of the 21st Century.’ This in itself is at best wildly optimistic and at worst patently absurd – but behind it is an important truth.
As Jonathan went on to say, ‘In 2010 we were told by the Tories, by Labour, by the Lib Dems – that austerity was the only answer. We bravely dared to be different. What we were saying then – that neoliberalism is dying and must be replaced – has become the mainstream.’
Before Corbynmania, there was the ‘Green surge’: a wave of support for a radical left-wing party which opposed austerity, championed public ownership, and questioned some fundamental assumptions about the economy and society. We lost the momentum. But the impact we had should not be underestimated. The Overton window – the range of policies considered politically acceptable by the public – is malleable, and can be shifted by voices pushing at its margins. Until Corbyn’s election as Labour leader, Greens were that voice on the left.
In 2015, we called for a £10 per hour minimum wage, renationalisation of the railways and free education. This May, Labour won nearly 13 million votes on a remarkably similar platform. That’s a huge vindication of what Greens have been fighting for for years.
This isn’t about taking credit – although there are many activists, from those who for years worked internally to make the Greens a radical left-wing party, to those who tirelessly knocked doors to make us an electoral threat in local areas, who now seem to be rewarded only by their own party’s declining relevance. It is about recognising the genuinely crucial role that the Green Party has played in shifting the political landscape, and thinking carefully about how we can continue to be that force.
That thinking is clearly being done by the party leadership. Jonathan’s speech lay out the beginnings of a radical vision that goes above and beyond Labour’s: replacing Universal Credit with a Universal Basic Income; a mutually owned and publicly-regulated Uber; asking, fundamentally, ‘who the economy is for.’
At conference however this wasn’t reflected in the concerns of members. Among the motions brought to the floor were not one but two which called for a re-focusing of our messaging to highlight ecology and climate change, while it seemed that much more time was dedicated to internal and organisational issues than to updating or strengthening policy.
But shunning social and economic issues in favour of a retreat to a narrow ‘deep green’ vision of environmentalism would be the death of our electoral chances and, ultimately, of any potential we might have to genuinely influence climate policy in this country. If we keep being imaginative, bold and forward-looking in all our policy areas, we have a chance to remain the vanguard of the radical left.
Even then, there are big questions to be answered about electoral tactics. Members will not accept a re-run of the progressive alliance strategy. But I doubt I am the only Green reluctant to pour my time and energy into campaigning against decent Labour MPs, for Green candidates unlikely to win the seat, when there are scores of Tories with wafer-thin majorities just a few action days away from being unseated by Labour.
One part of the answer to this is a sharp focus on local elections, which was clearly at the fore this conference. Amelia Womack highlighted the work of Alison Teal who has stood up against the Labour council in Sheffield in the battle to save the city’s street trees – just one example of Green councillors holding Labour to account. There is in many places a real disconnect between Labour’s national policy platform and its actions locally, and a strong showing for a radical left-wing Green Party in the May elections would send a message to the Labour councils that too often take their voters for granted.
There’s no pretending this isn’t a tough time for the Greens. There are no easy answers. But I left conference certain that there is still a place for us in British politics, and a real need for strong left-wing voices within the party. The urgent task now is keeping those voices there and making them heard.
Georgia Elander is a member of the Green Party. She tweets here.
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16 Responses to “Do we still need the Green Party?”
Obi
I have spoken to the other people about the Greens supposedly joining Labour and the radical ones would disagree. Labour people have told me that the Greens are needed to ensure that we always push the envelope.
The Green Party contemplate many ideas that would not be considered by the main parties. Even shockingly renationalisation of the Railways. Hopefully, making towns energy independent and Universal Basic Income will also be borrowed by the Labour manifesto at some point.
As for the Local Council elections in 2018? I hope the voters will realise that having safe seats whether Tory or Labour does not assist in democracy. For instance, we have the situation where Housing Activists are fighting against a Tory Council in Barnet (1 majority from Labour), then fighting against majority held Labour Council in Haringey, Southwark and Lambeth. Placing too much power in the main parties and you end up with corruption.
With the dearth of media coverage, the Green activists need to be more active in social media and create their own media. The lack of livestream in the conference was troublesome.
Denis Walker
This piece starts with entirely the wrong question. The Green Party’s policy is very different from Labour’s in a great many ways. For one thing we strongly oppose the Government’s Brexit strategy, while they are happy to fall in line with it. One might ask if there’s still a point to the Labour Party.
The UK has been very poorly served by the First Past the Post electoral system and if instead of asking what the point of smaller parties was, we were to move to a more democratic system such as STV, it would result in a far more representative set of MPs. If people felt they were actually being listened to, they might have voted differently in the EU Referendum.
Pablo
@Julia – fixed it for you”
..there is still a place for Labour in British politics. Well of course there’s a place for your activists. There’s no better place for them to turn Social Democratic ideas into reality than inside the Green Party. For those Reds who are solidly dedicated to socialism why not transform yourselves into a world-leading campaign around action on inequality.
Tony
The Labour Party still supports Trident replacement and maintaining a bloated level of military spending.
Theresa May’s willingness to actually start a nuclear war was not challenged by Labour during the general election.
Ross Armour
The Greens constantly like to talk up the prospect of a progressive alliance with Labour. Yet what was their number 1 target seat at the last general election? Bristol West, which was held and retained by one of our Labour MPs. There is no point speaking of a progressive alliance and then targeting seats where a progressive MP sits. Of course the Greens have a place in British politics, which climate change continuing to be as important as ever, but in terms of Westminster seats I can’t see them being anymore than a one-person party through Caroline Lucas