Green Party Watch

The UK Huffington Post has this piece about popular Green Party Member of Parliament Caroline Lucas in the United Kingdom. Lucas is the first Green to get elected to Parliament in the UK.

Some excerpts:

Shortly after making history, Caroline Lucas gave a speech on Glastonbury’s pyramid stage, called for drugs to be decriminalised and won the Spectator’s much-coveted parliamentarian of the year award.

It’s been a busy year for Britain’s first Green MP – and she’s not planning to slow down. Her next project is shaking up the green movement, who she admits have “failed a little bit” to engage the public.

[...]

“Until recently I think the wider green movement and the green party included in it were too much focused, understandably, to waking people up to the climate crisis that would be rather than attracting people by painting a positive picture of what a zero carbon economy could look like. And I think fear isn’t a great motivating influence.”

For her, the green movement is about improving people’s lives – tackling the problem of fuel poverty, creating jobs and growth.

“Instead of just saying ‘we’ve got to act because climate change could be dreadful’, we’ve got to act because this could be a way of creating lots of jobs and also insulating lots of people’s homes and reducing their fuel bills so they’re not living in poverty and dying prematurely.

“I think we’ll have a much better job of doing it if we don’t always talk about the doom and gloom and hairshirts. The sense that the climate change agenda is one about doing without and giving things up is a very negative agenda. It turns people off.”

Sitting at a desk crowded with annotated print outs from bill sub-committees she speaks quickly, offering to help clarify quotes if my dictaphone can’t pick up it all up.

The sense of urgency is understandable. For Lucas, climate change has been relegated down the political agenda – and it’s up to her to tackle that within parliament as the most powerful representative of the green movement in the country.

“It’s just crazy”, Lucas says, that the Government aren’t instigating a 1930s style New Deal for green energy.

“We know climate change is happening, we know what is causing it, we know what we need to do to address it. What’s lacking isn’t the technical knowledge, it’s not even the money actually it just comes down to the political will to say ‘this is a priority’.”

She believe it comes down a Catch 22. Lucas thinks the politicians are waiting for the public pressure to act, whilst the public assume if it were serious the politicians would be acting already.

“That’s such a dangerous conclusion to draw because it is that serious and politicians aren’t doing something about it and they’re not doing anything about it because they don’t feel under the pressure from the public.”

Read the entire article here.

2010 was a roller coaster year for the Green Party. Mid-term elections proved voter dissatisfaction with the Democrats in power, but the media-darling Tea Party Movement drove voters to reactionary candidates, not helping Greens at the polls. International Greens saw successes in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other places, while US Greens were moved by the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza under siege by Israeli forces. The 2010 Annual National Meeting was held in Detroit, Michigan in conjunction with the US Social Forum, putting Greens side by side their brothers and sisters in the struggle for social justice in America. In the fall, Greens had many exciting candidates running for office including Jill Stein, LeAlan Jones, Laura Wells, Rich Whitney, Tom Clements, Colia Clark, Julia Willebrand, Farheen Hakeem, Howie Hawkins, Cecile Lawrence, Ben Manski, Fred Horsch, and so many other inspiring Greens.

The following Top 10 Green Party stories are taken from a combination of hits on Green Party Watch and other criteria to build a summary of the year. May 2011 be prosperous for Greens around the World. Time is running out.

Top 10 Green Party Stories of 2010

May 7, 2010 – Caroline Lucas becomes first Green Member of Parliament in United Kingdom – Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, won a hotly-contested race in Brighton Pavilion to become the Greens’ first-ever member of parliament. The Guardian summed it up best: “It’s a massive breakthrough, not only because she’s a brilliant, charismatic, humane politican who will enrich parliamentary life, but also because it proves it can be done, even under our antiquated political system.”

May 31, 2010 Green Party and Cynthia McKinney Condemn Freedom Flotilla Massacre – In May of this year the Israeli Navy attacked a flotilla of ships run by the Free Gaza movement carrying humanitarian supplies to the besieged residents of the Gaza Strip. 19 human rights activists were killed in the attack and 50 more wounded. The Green Party, led by 2008 Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney, have been vocal and active critics of Israel’s war on the people of Gaza.

“The attacks on the aid boats is a criminal act of piracy and a deliberate provocation,” said Dr. Justine McCabe, co-chair of the Green Party’s International Committee. ““We demand immediate action from the US, including emergency orders from President Obama to cut off all aid to Israel. The policies of the US regarding Israel and Palestine up to now have convinced Israel that it can act with impunity in committing massacres and massive human violations against Palestinian civilians.”

2008 Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney, who was taken prisoner by the Israelis last year on another attack on a Free Gaza ship, said: “I am outraged at Israel’s latest criminal act. I mourn with my fellow Free Gaza travelers, the lives that have been lost by Israel’s needless, senseless act against unarmed humanitarian activists.”

June 8, 2010 – California Voters Pass Prop 14, Top Two Primary Initiative By a 53% – 46% margin, California voters approved adopting a “top two primary” election reform, a system whereby all candidates appear on a single ballot in the primary but only the top two, regardless of political party, advance to the General Election.

California Gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells had this to say: “Prop 14 pretends to be “open primary,” but more accurately should be called “top two,” or party-killer! Only two candidates would be left in November, when Prop 14 would exclude all the independent, alternative political parties like the Green Party, Peace and Freedom, and Libertarian. Prop 14 would favor only Democrats and Republicans that are incumbents or highly funded.”

June 24-27, 2010 – Green Party Annual National Meeting in Detroit in Conjunction with US Social Forum The Green Party’s Annual National Meeting was held in Detroit, Michigan in conjunction with the US Social Forum. The Green Party sponsored several Social Forum workshops and registration was cross-listed between the two events. Many Green Party candidates were in attendance and available to the media. A number of candidate presentations were taped by Green Party Watch and can be found through this link.

June 2010 – Republicans pay to get Green Party on Ballot in Texas, Democrats Livid If there is one thing that drives Democrats crazier than a Green “spoiling” an election, it is Greens getting on the ballot at all despite overwhelming odds. In Texas, a Republican consultant in Arizona arranged for a non-profit in Missouri to pay for Free & Equal to come up with 92,000 signatures to get the Green Party of Texas on the ballot up and down the ticket. Democrats were livid, immediately suing and issuing injunctions against ballot access. The case went to the Texas supreme court before culminating with the Green Party candidates being allowed to remain on the ballot.

The ultimate result of this was that Ed Lindsay, Green Party of Texas candidate for State Comptroller won over 5% of the vote, ensuring that the Green Party of Texas will have state wide ballot access through the 2012 elections.

August 21, 2010 – Historic Election Results for Australian Greens The Australian Green Party performed very well in the federal elections in Australia, with Adam Bandt winning a seat outright in Melbourne with over 36% of the first-choice vote, and the Greens winning about 12% of the vote in the lower house, giving them a share of control over the balance of power in the Australian Parliament.

September 21, 2010 – Green Party Senate candidate Natasha Pettigrew hit and killed on bicycle Natasha Pettigrew, Senate candidate for the Green Party in Maryland, was riding in the bike lane on a highway early on a Sunday morning by an inattentive driver of a SUV. The driver apparently didn’t realize she had hit anyone until she arrived home. Pettigrew died from her injuries the next day. This (long after the fact) article really captures the influence this story had on people.

November 3, 2010 – Green Party Gains Ballot Access in Texas and New York Election returns resulted in the Green Party gaining ballot access through at least 2012 in two of the most populous states, New York and Texas, however the Green Party lost ballot access in Illinois and Wisconsin. In New York Greens gain ballot status through 2014 thanks to Howie Hawkins earning over 50,000 votes for governor. In Texas Greens gain ballot status through 2012 thanks to Ed Lindsay earning over 5% for comptroller.

November 5, 2010 – Green Party Candidates for US Senate Net Half Million Votes The eleven Green Party candidates on the ballot this year for US Senate netted a combined half million votes. The 510,000 votes is the highest combined total for Green Party Senate candidates since 2000, when Medea Benjamin won 326,000 votes for US Senate in California and Vance Hansen picked up over 100,000 in Arizona. The 2010 results were clearly led by Tom Clements in South Carolina, whose 118,000 votes gave him 9.37% of the total. Clements had the most votes and the highest percent of the vote of all Green Party US Senate candidates in 2010. LeAlan Jones was the second big finisher with 116,000 votes, 3.19% of the total.

2010 – Green Party Elects 37 Greens to Office in 2010 342 Greens ran for office in 2010, over 300 of them were on the ballot in November. 37 Greens were elected, a win rate of 10.8%. All but 2 of the wins were in non-partisan races.

On the November ballot, Greens had strong showings for State Legislative races, but fell short in races for Governor and US House of Representatives. One Green, Ben Chipman, was elected to the Maine State Assembly but was listed as an Independent due to a technicality.

The text is here, and also available at the party website. H/T to Ballot Access News.

Caroline Lucas delivers maiden speech to Parliament

Mr Speaker,

I am most grateful to you for calling me during today’s debate.

The environment is a subject dear to my heart, as I’m sure you know, and I’ll return to it in a moment.

I think anyone would find their first speech in this chamber daunting, given its history and traditions, and the many momentous events it has witnessed.

But I have an additional responsibility, which is to speak not only as the new Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion, but also as the first representative of the Green Party to be elected to Westminster.
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The Independent UK has an interview with Caroline Lucas, the UK Green Party’s first member of parliament:

As far as landmark moments in the green movement go, last Thursday was a pretty big one. The environment featured in the news as usual – there was a report saying the UK could power itself six times over with offshore renewable energy, and activists scaled London’s BP building in protest at the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Both issues are pertinent to the greater cause, but the real sign of progress took place at the Houses of Parliament, where Caroline Lucas, the leader of the Green Party, was sworn in as Britain’s first Green Member of Parliament. read more »

Aida Edamariam at The Guardian has an interview with Caroline Lucas, who recently became the Green Party of England and Wales’ first member of parliament:

Whatever you think of the Greens, it would have been hard not to feel that one of the few truly inspiring moments in last week’s election came at about 6am on Friday 7 May, when, in a hall on the cold seafront, Green party leader Caroline Lucas was declared MP for Brighton Pavilion, with a 1,200 majority. Jeremy Paxman immediately demanded which side she’d back if there was a coalition (neither, necessarily, she replied politely; she would approach all issues on a case-by-case basis), but an amateur video posted on YouTube gives more of a sense of the enormity of what she achieved for her party of more than 11,000 members, in a first-past-the-post system stacked against them: the camera, dipping and weaving erratically around the room, is trained on the audience as well as the podium. When the results are announced, it catches a supporter wiping away sudden tears. read more »

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, won a hotly-contested race in Brighton Pavilion to become the Greens’ first-ever member of parliament. Lucas thanked supporters for “putting the politics of hope above the politics of fear.” In the election at large, Labour and the Liberal Democrats lost seats while the Conservatives gained; however, the Conservatives failed to win a majority, making it possible that Labour and the Liberal Democrats will form a governing coalition.

In the second constituency targeted by the Greens, Norwich South, Adrian Ramsay came in fourth despite doubling the Green vote from 2005 to 14.9%. Despite the loss, Greens pointed to recent local victories as evidence that they’re on track to take power in Norwich by 2011, which would mark another first for the party. In the third targeted seat, Lewisham Deptford, Darren Johnson took 11.1%, and Tony Juniper managed 7.6% in Cambridge.

At The Guardian, George Monbiot commented on Lucas’ election to parliament:

It’s a massive breakthrough, not only because she’s a brilliant, charismatic, humane politican who will enrich parliamentary life, but also because it proves it can be done, even under our antiquated political system.

Unlike many European countries that elect their parliaments using proportional representation, UK elections use first-past-the-post voting, contributing to electoral chaos. From The Guardian’s live election coverage:

A hung parliament is virtually inevitable. With more than 500 seats counted, the BBC is predicting that the Conservatives will end up with 306 seats, Labour 262 seats and the Lib Dems 55 seats [325 seats are needed for a majority]. The Conservatives are currently on 37% of the vote, Labour on 28% and the Lib Dems on 23%.

The Guardian reports that the Liberal Democrats may demand a switch to proportional representation as a condition for supporting one of the larger parties in coalition. The Greens, who won 8.7% of the vote in last year’s European elections, also support proportional representation.

After learning of her historic victory, Caroline Lucas gave the following statement:

“The emphatic support of voters in Brighton Pavilion show that they do want to support a party whose values represent fairness, social justice and environmental well-being. They have shown that they are prepared to put their trust in the Greens, despite the overwhelming national media focus on the three largest parties and a voting system that is fundamentally undemocratic. I feel humbled by their trust in me, and I am excited by this vote of confidence and I’m looking forward to the challenging task of fully representing the voters of Brighton.

“This victory is no accident: it is the result of the hard work and commitment of thousands of Green Party members and supporters not only in Brighton but from right across the country over the past months and years. It is their work and support that has helped deliver this win, and the victory is as much theirs as it is mine.

“Thanks to the confidence that the voters of Brighton Pavilion have shown, Green principles and policies will now have a voice in Parliament. Policies such as responding to climate change with a million new ‘green’ jobs in low-carbon industries, fair pensions and care for older people, and stronger regulation of the banks will be heard in the House of Commons. I will also use my influence as an MP in the city of Brighton & Hove to push for affordable housing for the city, a new secondary school for the city, and greater backing for the city’s creative industries.

“Finally, as this election shows, the first-past-the post voting system used for general elections is utterly discredited. I will be strongly backing calls for a referendum to replace it with a form of proportional representation that properly reflects the needs and views of 21st century voters. If a form of proportional representation is introduced, the Green Party is confident that its true level of support nationally can be represented properly.”

With the United Kingdom set to elect a new parliament on May 6th, the UK Green Party has something to be encouraged about: Green Party policies are the most popular of the six largest British parties in an online survey that matches respondents’ views to party platforms. Currently, Green policies have 25% support from over 224,000 respondents at Vote For Policies.

The UK Green Party is aiming to win its first seat in parliament this year. Caroline Lucas, the party’s leader and member of European parliament, is favored to win in Brighton Pavilion. Adrian Ramsay in Norwich South and Darren Johnson in Lewisham Deptford are also considered to be in the running for parliamentary seats. Tony Juniper in Cambridge has also climbed in recent polls.

Unlike many other European countries, the United Kingdom doesn’t have proportional representation. Rather, members of parliament are elected using first-past-the-post, the same system used for the US Congress (although the UK doesn’t suffer from anti-competitive ballot access laws of the kind that plague the US). There are hopes that this may change if neither of the traditional two big parties, the Conservatives and Labour, wins a majority in parliament. The Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third largest party, have a chance to make up the balance of power, and they may demand a switch to proportional representation as a condition of their support for a coalition government.

Best of luck to the UK Greens from your mates across the pond!

From Helene Mulholland at The Guardian:

The Green party is fielding a record number of candidates at the general election amid hopes it will win its first parliamentary seat.

The party is hoping to gain from voter disaffection with mainstream parties following the expenses scandal, campaigning under the slogan: “Fair is worth fighting for.”

More than 300 Green candidates will contest seats throughout the country – including a full slate in London, where the party is represented on the capital’s assembly by Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones. read more »

The United Kingdom will hold a parliamentary election sometime between now and June 3.   Although the official date hasn’t been announced, candidates are up and running.  Green Party of England and Wales party leader Caroline Lucas represents South East England in the European Parliament.  She’s standing in the UK Parliamentary seat of Brighton Pavilion in the upcoming election.  The Greens already control the local Brighton council and, as we’ve noted before, it looks like Lucas has opened up a small but significant lead in an independent poll.

Today’s UK Guardian has a brief article explaining why Lucas’ chances make this one of the more interesting contests in the upcoming election.

“One more Tory MP, one more Labour MP – what difference is that going to make?” says Lucas. “The first Green MP, I think, would have a far greater effect.” To that end, she is fighting hard, and doing as well as you’d expect among people who live in Brighton’s bohemian centre – though much of the battle will be fought in the seat’s more suburban patches, split between traditionally ­Labour-supporting estates and more Tory-favouring areas, with extensive gardens.

The Greens are on the upswing in the UK, with 125 councilors not including Scotland, but this Brighton Pavilion is their best shot at breaking into Parliament.  In the last election, the Greens nearly tied for second with the Conservatives in this constituency.   The party has built up a strong local base and now Lucas is in a position to campaign as the real progressive choice against the Conservatives.

I wish there was a way to embed the video accompanying the article into this post, because its fascinating.  Journalist John Harris doesn’t pretend to be completely disinterested in politics.  He tells everyone straightforwardly that he’s a disgruntled Labour voter.   All three candidates address him not so much as a journalist, but as a potential convert.

He asks tough questions of all three candidates, but completes the video by admitting that as a disgruntled Labour voter, he’s got a dilemma.  Although he’s concerned about voting in the Conservatives, he no longer feels that New Labour represents his politics.  He wonders if its only his “old tribal loyalties” that would stop him from voting Green.

This will be one to watch.

Links:

• Article: Could Brighton Pavilion elect Britain’s first Green MP?. John Harris. Guardian. February 8, 2010.

• Video: Brighton Pavilion: A Green leap forward? John Harris voyages to the seaside seat where Caroline Lucas could become Britain’s first Green MP

• Brighton & Hove Greens party website

• Caroline Lucas campaign website

• Wikipedia: Caroline Lucas

In the most recent piece the Arizona Green Party is covered as they go to go to US District Court hoping to overturn laws that shorten the deadline for filing petitions and which forbid out-of-state petitioners.

Only slightly older is this piece which discusses recent polls which indicate that the Green Party of England and Wales may elect their first Member of Parliament. It includes a link to an article at The Independent which says that Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has an 8% lead over the Conservative challenger.

But the most significant development is the candidature of Caroline Lucas herself, Britain’s most accomplished Green politician. Articulate, passionate, radical without seeming threatening, the former Oxfam adviser has been MEP (editorial note: Member of the European Parliament) for South-east England for 10 years, and is a world away from the old image of the Green party activist as someone who lived in a tepee eating brown rice.

According to this article, Green Party of England and Wales leader Caroline Lucas believes that the Greens are poised to win a seat in Parliament. She is quoted saying that the Labour Party, led by Gordon Brown, is responsible for the nation’s economic and social difficulties.

“The government’s response to the current economic crisis is creating more inequality, not reducing it,” she said.

She also pointed to recent Green Party votes across Europe as proof that the Green Party’s message is resonating with voters across the continent.

“A million people who responded to our policies, our candidates and perhaps, above all, to our values,” she said.

“A million voices calling out for honesty in politics, for tackling the issues that really matter, like climate change and good quality public services.

“A million people who wanted fairness from a party they could trust. What a message for the other parties.”

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The Green Party of Ontario will elect a new leader at a convention November 13-15, in London.

The Green Party of New Zealand has issued a press release about air pollution, raising concerns about particles 2.5 microns and smaller which are not currently monitored.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party Member of the European Parliament from England and Wales, is calling on Greens and allies to pledge to reduce our personal carbon emissions by ten percent by 2010. Ms. Lucas is also interviewed by The Guardian about how cash plays a role in British politics, making it difficult for smaller parties like the Greens to be heard.

The Irish Times is reporting that Greens and opposition parties are being encouraged to meet to discuss support for the Treaty of Lisbon, which would change how the European Parliament functions.

The Oshaw Express is reporting on what they call “Not quite a green party machine”. This is a detailed report on one of Canada’s Green Party efforts, looking to grow the Green Party beyond their current 11% base of support.