Even before Labour’s manifesto is published, Corbyn and the front bench are rolling out a raft of radical announcements – critically the Green New Deal and defence of our NHS, writes Veronica Fagan. The record of the Yellow Tory Lib Dems has nothing in common with this.
In the run up to October 31, Labour was correct to co-operate with other parties to block a no deal Brexit, even though working with the Lib Dems meant holding our noses. But once the general election was called, the situation changed. Stopping Brexit via a second referendum and putting forward positive policies for government became central.
So the decision of Plaid Cymru and the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) to enter into a Remain Alliance last week provoked a sharp intake of breath amongst many – including many Green Party members. After all Labour are clearly committed to a second referendum with remain as an option.
There is even contention inside the Liberal Democrats over the move – particularly where Labour’s candidates have strong pro-remain records. In Canterbury, the Lib Dem candidate Tim Walker has stood down in favour of Labour’s Rosie Duffield. In High Peak, Guy Kiddey has threatened to do likewise. . But Swinson has made clear that the Lib Dems will not give way – thus making it more rather than less likely that a Tory Brexit will be the victor.
Labour in office will not only legislate for a second referendum but will carry through an extensive programme of measures to address the environmental emergency. So it was no surprise that Green Left issued a statement of rejection of the pact a few days later, in which they point out positive developments within Labour and on the contrary launch a completely justified broadside against the Lib Dems:
“The Lib Dems are part of the problem not the solution. The Liberal Democrats are a party whose leader, Jo Swinson, received funding from a major fracking company and voted for fracking. She and her party also voted for the bedroom tax, benefit cuts and the introduction of Universal Credit, the scrapping of the education maintenance, increased tuition fees, opposed increasing the tax rate on those earning £150,000, supported cuts to the police and emergency services, supported zero hours contracts, supported the badger cull and did little to challenge climate change, preferring instead nuclear power”.
Green Left’s Martin Francis explains in an interview with Labour Briefing explains that there was a lack of transparency within the party about who was involved in the negotiations, who was involved in the consultations. Asked what the response was inside the Green Party is he replies: It was controversial and the lack of any official explanation aside from social media (you look in vain for anything on the Green Party’s official website) left some floundering and others angry, disappointed or seeing that we had little choice in an unfair system.
Vote Labour to stop Brexit – Vote Labour against environmental emergency
It was perhaps less predictable that there would be a revolt in some official structures of the GPEW. It’s true that the party’s constitution means that local Green Parties have complete autonomy to decide whether to stand in all elections but these moves are still significant.
The decision to withdraw in favour of Labour’s Faiza Shaheen in the marginal seat of Chingford and Woodford Green undoubtedly increases the chance of unseating the hated Ian Duncan-Smith. In the less nationally known Calder Valley, the maths are very clear. Tory Craig Whittaker has a majority of 609 – and the Green took 613 votes last time so this is a real boost for Labour’s Josh Fenton-Glynn.
In Pembrokeshire, the local Green Party agreed to stand down its candidates in both local seats, Preseli Pembrokeshire and. Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire in favour of Labour. The Tories have a majority of 314 in the former and just over 3,000 in the latter.
A spokesman for Pembrokeshire Green Party, said: "We have reached an incredibly dangerous moment within the British political landscape. Ten years of Tory austerity has caused 120,000 deaths in our communities, our public services are on the brink of collapse due to gross underfunding by the Tories. People are suffering on a massive scale due to ideologically motivated Tory cuts to the very fabric of our society. The Climate Emergency is the most pressing issue that humanity has ever encountered, we are facing human extinction and ecological catastrophe if we do not act and act now!”
Stroud, a Labour/Tory marginal, where Labour’s David Drew has a long environmental record, is a particular focus of interest after calls from some youth climate strikers on the Green’s Molly Scott Cato to stand down, but so far she and the local Green Party seem to be rejecting this approach.
There has been a hard hitting intervention by Green MEP for Yorkshire and Humber, Magid Magid. In a detailed interview for London Economic, he urges his Party to stand down in 44 Labour/Tory marginals – including Stroud, while praising the decisions in Calder Valley and Chingford and Woodford Green.
He states: “it makes me sick to my depths to imagine waking up on December 13 to a Tory government, excited to impose five more years of misery on the poor and Trumpism on us all. Thinking we could have done more to stop them” and continues “let’s get the Tories out, end austerity, protect our environment, stop Brexit by winning a people’s vote and reform our democracy”.
His list of 44 was mentioned in the subsequent withdrawal of Harrow East’s Green Party candidate, Emma Wallace. She said: “As Harrow East has been identified as one of the 44 key marginals, with only 1700 between the current Conservative incumbent and Labour in the last election, I do not want to split the left vote further. With Nigel Farage announcing the withdrawal of half of his Brexit Party candidates to ensure a Conservative majority, it is even more important that the left work together to prevent the hard right takeover of government.
Bob Blackman's divisive stance and appalling record of voting, including the rejection of measures to tackle climate change, being against gay and human rights, not supporting fair increases in welfare benefits and voting for reducing central funding for local government, with Harrow being one of the worst cut areas, we believe we give voters the best opportunity to vote against him through the withdrawal of Green candidacy.”
We will know by the end of Friday how whether there have been any further withdrawals
Meanwhile social media is littered with individual Green Party members resigning over the pact, which clearly acts to position the party in precisely the wrong place. Green Left’s Martin Francis says in his Labour Briefing interview: “As socialists we have more in common with the Corbyn led Labour Party in terms of a critique of capitalism and policies such as a Green New Deal which has been Green Party policy for many years, although we have differences in terms of Trident, airport expansion, nuclear power and proportional representation.
Socialist Resistance not only strongly agrees with the first part of his statement, but also with the second part. These are policies we are working to win Labour to – and on environmental questions why we are working within RedGreen Labour to tackle those contentious issues that even the excellent Green New Deal do not yet commit us to. We say Vote Labour to stop Brexit, vote Labour to combat climate emergency.
4 comments
prianikoff · 15 November 2019
A somewhat dishonest report.
The Green Party's trajectory has been evident for some time now, it's just that SR never mentioned it.
Before a No-deal Brexit was voted down in Parliament, Caroline Lucas floated the idea of coalition cabinet of female remainers.
This was not only anti-democratic, but would specifically exclude anyone from the Labour left.
Furthermore, to describe Labour's policy as support for a "Second Referendum", may create the impression that the party has been won over to the position of "Peoples Vote" and its camp followers, but it's very misleading.
If it's elected a Labour government will negotiate a deal with the EU, then put it to a public vote, with Remain as an option.
The distintion is important, because Labour voters who voted Leave in 2016, are less likely to desert the party at the election.
You've consistently underestimated the importance of this point.
Terry Conway · 15 November 2019
Im not sure what the comment above means about the trajectory of the Green Party being evident for a while - what is certainly evident from this week is there is a lot of disquiet inside the party about the pact with the Lib Dems.
Id agree with you about Caroline Lucas's proposal for a coalition cabinet was a very bad one which we didnt support.
Labour does support a second referendum - and yes you are right that the position includes that Labour government will negotiate a deal with the EU, then put it to a public vote, with Remain as an option. Socialist Resistance has said so in many articles and its very unlikely that anyone doesnt know.
But I hope that by the time we get to that point the dynamic that has led many who initially opposed a second referendum to back it now will lead those same people to fight for Labour to campaign for remain. I say that as someone from the North East where there were big Leave votes - which I think came as a result primarily of social exclusion - an area of Britain which I think would be extremely badly impacted by ANY Brexit..
Philip Clayton · 17 November 2019
I had to move this year, in March, from Chippimg Barnet to Hendon. Some years ago,2010, I borrowed £1,000 to stand against Therese Villiers. She had taken nearly £50,000 of public money to buy a £350,000 flat in Pimlico "in order to better represent my constituents". Her constituency house is 8.5 miles from Westminster. The flat is now worth £700,000. The abuse I received for daring to bring this into public debate was enormous. "She has done nothing illegal, or aren't you aware of that?" What about morality? "£50,000 isn't a lot of money." For me it was 10 years income. "Therese is wonderful and a fantastic M.P., why are you standing against her?" Because of her expenses claim. "Then why don't you stand against that Labour woman who has fiddled her expenses?" She meant the ginger chipmunk Hazel Blears, and I had to explain it was because I didn't live in her constituency. (Subsequently appointed, without any job advertisement or selection process to be finance officer for the Co-op, despite the fact her only knowledge of finance was fiddling her expenses.).
Needless to say I got nowhere. But the point of telling everyone this is in the last election if the Greens had not stood Ms Villiers, a corrupt scumbag, a scion of one of the oldest and richest aristocratic families in the country, would no longer be sitting in the Commons. She voted against allowing refugee children to join their siblings in the UK, voted for every austerity measure, and is a hard right-wing anti EU pro 'libertarian' economics nutter. Someone who will never suffer any consequences of any economic recession.
Davy Jones · 19 November 2019
I think this article misses perhaps the most important point: why didn't Labour support the proposal from the Green Party for an anti-Tory alliance at this election ? The stock LP answer is that its rules don't allow it. But of course that begs the question as to why Labour didn't change its rules as an imminent election has been obvious for a while. And of course, such election pacts can be formal or informal. In reality lots of local pacts have been negotiated. I understand that the GP has now stood down in 50/60 seats (some as part of this "Alliance with Plaid & Lib Dems which mostly target Tory seats), and some for Labour in highly marginal seats. But Labour has made this as difficult as possible, even threatening local parties thinking of standing down or of running "token campaigns". If the key objective of the Left at this election is to stop the Tories, any pacts should be considered - but Labour refused to even discuss the idea. If it loses the election narrowly, this may be the primary reason it does. As a Green Socialist and member of the GP, I think the Alliance with the Lib Dems & Plaid is a mistake - not though because of its impact on the election result. Looking through the seats included, my guess is that the net overall effect will be to reduce the number of Tory seats by 3 or 4 - pretty modest. And I think that should have renegotiated in the background out of the limelight. The problem for me with the "alliance" is that word! And the fact that it positions the GP as a centre party rather than a Left Wing one (which its manifesto launched today clearly proves that it is). It is a PR own goal, feeding all the hostility within Labour to the GP. But to come back to my main point - Labour could and should have avoided all this by agreeing to sanction local Anti-Tory pacts all round the country. It didn't - and the anger directed at Greens for the Alliance with the Lib Dems & Plaid should be redirected at Labour.