Siân Berry spoke to Left Foot Forward at Green Party conference

The Green Party’s former co-leader Siân Berry has said she wouldn’t be interested in a ministerial position in a Labour led government should Keir Starmer’s party fail to win a majority at the next election and she is elected as the next MP for Brighton Pavilion. Berry made the comments exclusively to Left Foot Forward in an interview at the Green Party’s autumn conference.

“I don’t think being a very junior coalition partner is a good place to be,” she told Left Foot Forward, adding, “I think the only position we could possibly end up in is a confidence and supply type situation, where we agree there should be a Labour led government but we’re not part of it.” She continued by saying: “I don’t want to be a minister in those circumstances, just personally. I’m sure the party would obviously have to have a democratic discussion within its own structures about this. But, no, my ambition is not to do that, my ambition is to have power to change the decisions, but also the freedom to be in opposition.”

While obviously theoretical at present, it is not outside the realm of possibility that this question becomes very real after the next election. If the polls narrow between now and polling day, it is possible that Labour fall short of winning an outright majority. Meanwhile, the Greens are bullish about their prospects of quadrupling their representation in parliament and getting four MPs elected. With Caroline Lucas announcing she won’t be restanding at the next election and Berry being confirmed as the Greens’ candidate in her seat, the latter could find herself in a position of negotiating with Labour.

Putting aside the question of what the negotiations would be over – a coalition or some other form of arrangement – Berry told Left Foot Forward what concessions she would be looking to win from Labour. She shared the view of her party’s co-leader Carla Denyer that proportional representation and action on climate would be central.

When asked what she would prioritise, Berry said that the ‘Green New Deal’ bill sponsored by Caroline Lucas would be “one of the easier things to try to get [Labour] to put through parliament”. In addition, she added that that “voting reform” would need to be a priority too, which Labour “might feel they can commit to” in the event of a hung parliament.

Berry also suggested that Green MPs could force the Labour Party to adopt a more radical approach to public spending and investment, telling Left Foot Forward that if Labour need the support of other parties, “Potentially, that’s a very good excuse for them to go back on these fiscal rules they’ve made for themselves which are not necessary and not going to give them the funds they need to address the climate and ecological emergency or many of the social justice issues”.

All of this will definitely remain hypothetical, though, if Berry doesn’t make it across the line and into the House of Commons in the first place. Some commentators have suggested that the Green Party’s loss of many seats in this year’s Brighton & Hove Council elections, alongside Caroline Lucas standing down, makes holding Brighton Pavilion challenging for the Greens.

Berry, unsurprisingly, disagrees. “I’m getting a really positive response on the doorstep,” Berry said, adding: “People very much do appreciate that the choice of their voice in Westminster, which has been such an historic and special choice that they made all those years since Caroline first got elected. They understand and appreciate and voluntarily speak about how that is a different thing than who runs the council.”

She continued: “People appreciate that Caroline [Lucas] has been a very very strong voice for the city – very inclusive, very clear on public services, on workers, on the climate emergency, pushing for a Green New Deal and doing it in a way that’s collegiate and cross party”.

Berry later added she thinks people believe Labour are failing to offer solutions to big issues facing residents in Brighton & Hove, saying: “The Labour leadership is moving away from the positions that would actually achieve the investment that we need, moving away from positions on – for example – rent controls.”

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

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