Adrian Ramsay used his party conference speech to say he wanted to "raise up the voices of everyone across the country who wants a fairer, greener future"
The Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay today made his first speech to his party’s conference as an elected member of parliament. Green Party members are gathering in Manchester this weekend at their first conference since the general election which returned a record-breaking four Green MPs.
Ramsay gave his speech alone on the stage, with his co-leader Carla Denyer having to miss the conference due being unwell.
In his speech, Ramsay celebrated the party’s new-found electoral success. “I am so happy to be standing here not just as a co-leader of this party, but also as one of your new Green MPs,” Ramsay said, adding: “Along with Carla, Sian and Ellie I could not be more grateful to be representing our party in parliament.”
He went on to say: “Together, we have achieved so much. We’ve broken records and made history. And we have done it by believing in a better politics – one that is positive, inspiring and ambitious.”
Later, Ramsay said that the new Green MPs will ‘collaborate’ with the new Labour government on issues where they agree. But he also committed to holding the Labour Party to account in parliament.
Specifically, he said that Greens would hold Labour to account on Gaza, benefits and the climate crisis. He said: “We promised to hold the new Government to account where we think they are off track, where they could and should be doing more, where we think greater ambition is needed to deliver the positive, inspiring change that people urgently want to see.
“Because in so many areas, ones that matter deeply to so many of us, Labour is getting it wrong.
“Like denying winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners, giving the green light to new climate destroying airport expansion, and to sticking with the cruelty of the two-child benefit cap.
“Like the welcome, but half hearted, partial suspension of arms sales to Israel, and continuing with the nonsensical ban on asylum seekers being allowed to work.
“So conference, we will be using our voices in Parliament to raise up the voices of the two million Green voters who want so much better, to raise up the voices of everyone across the country who wants a fairer, greener future, to raise up the voices of all those who believe in our positive alternatives and who know we represent real hope and real change.”
Later, Ramsay said that the Greens would be pushing Labour on measures to address the nature emergency, the broken water system and the crisis in the NHS. His speech received rapturous applause when he called for the water sector to be taken back into public ownership.
Ramsay said: “I will not rest until our waterways are clean, until shareholders and corporate bosses aren’t rewarded for their failures and until water is brought back into public hands, where it rightfully belongs.”
Green Party Conference is taking place from 6-8 September in Manchester.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
This article is jointly published with Bright Green
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