U.K. makes real progress
Local growth and closer to Westminster
By Mike Feinstein
International Committee

	The U.K. Greens' best hope for Westminster: Brighton City Councillor Keith Taylor. Courtesy U.K. Greens

While much of the nation revolted from an election that failed to excite voters, for Greens in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom's May 5 General Election represented a big step forward.

Greens campaigned on a platform of "Real Progress" and met several of their strategic goals, including gaining more seats on the local level, and moving closer to their first-ever seat in the House of Commons.

Greening local government

On the local government level, Real Progress meant focusing upon land use planning, public transit, "localization" (local production for local needs so as to strengthen local economies and reduce food miles), education and the need for ethical, environment-friendly investment of pension funds.

This Green message apparently resonated with voters, as an all-time high of 71 Greens now hold elected office in England and Wales, up from 62 before May 5. This includes By-Election (special election) victories in Norfolk and Kirklees in the days following May 5. Greens now sit upon 30 different Principal Authority councils-including districts, English counties, metropolitan and London boroughs. 

Overall, Greens in England and Wales fielded 604 candidates out of 2,385 seats being contested, up 50 percent from 401 candidates in 2001. The strongest results came in Oxford, Lancaster, Norwich and Watford, including four new county council seats in Oxfordshire. The success in Oxfordshire makes five seats there in total, compared to nine for Labour. In Oxford itself, Greens hold seven seats on the 47-member city council there.

Greens also won their first-ever seats in Northern Ireland, operating under the Single Transferable Vote system, with District Council victories by incumbent Brian Wilson, North Down (Bangor West)-who switched to the Green Party earlier this year-as well as Bill Corry, Down (Downpatrick) and Ciaran Mussen, Newry & Mourne (Crotlieve).

Party co-leaders John Barry and Kelly Andrew also turned in strong performances, but were squeezed out in final counts for North Down seats, Barry being defeated by a well-orchestrated transfer campaign by Ulster Unionists.

Westminster bound?

According to Peter Cranie, party election co-coordinator, the Green goal for the election for the House of Commons was "to secure an authentic Green voice in the Commons at this General Election or at the very latest the one after, so that the establishment parties can be held to account in the public spotlight over climate change and other issues."

The party's best Westminster hope, Brighton Pavilion City Councilor Keith Taylor, received 22 percent in a four-way race, only 1.9 percent behind the Tories for second place. These results come in a district where Greens also received 27 percent in the 2004 European Parliament elections, and have six members on the 54-member Brighton & Hove City Council, where they also hold the balance of power.

Taylor took this as affirmation about how voters see Greens in government: "The message is clear; Greens are radical, electable and effective, and where they are in office, people want more."

Running sitting Green councilors in each, the party doubled its vote in the targeted constituencies of Brighton Pavilion, Norwich South and Lewisham Deptford-making it a "four horse race" with the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour in these constituencies for the first time-and in Brighton Pavilion, actually finishing ahead of one of the other three for the first time ever in a Westminster race.

In Scotland, Greens contested 19 Westminster seats, saw their average percentage of the vote rise across all 19 after only contesting four in 2001, and saw party membership grow by 10 percent. In Glasgow North, their 7.7 percent was the fifth highest for Greens across the entire U.K., and they also experienced success in parts of Edinburgh, the capital.

Scottish Greens argued to cancel the proposed M74 extension in the heart of Glasgow and instead redirect funding to boost production of renewable energy. They also sought to regulate supermarkets, as party co-convener and Member of Scottish Parliament Shiona Baird explained, "to limit the damage being done to community-based food production by their purchasing power."

Nationwide, U.K. Greens contested 202 Westminster constituencies out of 646 (31.3 percent), with England leading with 172/529, followed by Scotland 19/59, Wales 11/40 and Northern Ireland 0/18. This represented a 40 percent rise from 145 constituencies in 2001 and a more than doubling of the 95 in 1997. Overall Greens received 283,486 votes, up from 166,626 in 2001 and 64,021 in 1997.

Electoral reform

Despite U.K. Green success in 2005, the lack of proportional representation for the House of Commons elections continued to frustrate the party by understating their strength, particularly the anti-war vote, for which they were the strongest critics of the Bush-Blair alliance around Iraq. As Cranie observed after the election, "Britain will have no Green voice during its G8 nor E.U. presidencies, nor politicians who-at this climactic crunch time-are committed to combating global warming or will counteract U.S. military aggression."

U.K. Greens have called for a change in the electoral system before. But what gives them hope this time is that their voice is being joined by millions of other unrepresented voters. Support for reform ranges from the Liberal Democrats (whose own electoral representation has also been historically understated) to anti-war voters frustrated with the lesser-of-evil choice between Blair and the Tories, to even the Tories themselves, who, after sustaining a "bloody nose" because of the electoral system (209 seats with 33 percent of the vote, compared to 356 seats for Labour with just 37 percent of the vote), realize that that they must fight for proportional representation just to survive.

Under the British system, parties have to pay a deposit of £500 ($925) per candidate, which they only get back if they receive 5 percent or more of the vote. In 2004, Greens saved 24 deposits in England and three in Scotland, after saving only 10 between the two in 2001. But despite this relative "success," they still lost 175 deposits and £87,500 ($161,875) just to participate in elections.

The People's Party

Despite the shortcomings of Britain's electoral system, 2005 nevertheless represented a significant step forward for U.K. Greens, and continues their steady period of growth over recent years.

U.K. Greens first began organizing in 1973 as the People's Party, in response to the publication of Teddy Goldsmith's Blueprint for Survival. In 1979 the People's Party became the Ecology Party and in 1985 became the Green Party. In 1989, U.K. Greens received 14.9 percent for European Parliament, at that time the highest percentage for any Green Party in the world. Today there are more elected Greens in more influential positions across the U.K. than ever before.

Two Greens are members of the European Parliament (Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert) and seven sit in the Scottish Parliament (led by party co-convener Robin Harper). Among the 71 Greens on Principal Authority councils, two are members in the Greater London Assembly. U.K. Greens are also part of a ruling coalition, or otherwise hold a "cabinet" position in Castle Morpeth, Kirklees, Lancaster and Leeds, and they have the balance of power in Oxford. Greens also sit on English parish and town and Welsh community councils. In addition a Green Party peer sits in the House of Lords. And in July the Association of U.K. Green Councillors will hold its Annual General Meeting and further network these elected officials.

For more information about Greens in the United Kingdom, go to www.greenparty.org.uk.

"Real Progress": platform summary from the U.K. Greens' 2005 general election campaign

Greening the Economy
Real Progress is investment in our communities, and economics as if people mattered.

Sub-issues:
Budget
GATS
Globalization
Privatization & Public Services
WTO
The Euro
Technology

Learning for Life
Real Progress is education that allows us all to live our dreams, publicly-funded for the public good.

Health and Wellbeing
Real Progress is health care free at the point of use, and policies that not only heal, but cure the causes of sickness.

Sub-issues:
Fluoridation
GM/Genetics
Zero Waste and Incinerators
Phone Masts
Drugs

Reliable, Inclusive Transport
Real Progress is cheaper, easy-to-use public transport.

Sub-issues:
Aviation
Climate Change
Fuel Crisis

Peace, Justice and Security
Real Progress would be a safer Britain in an equitable, peaceful world.

Sub-issues:
Iraq
September 11th/War on Terror
Asylum
Nuclear
Human Rights
Bombing of Yugoslavia 1999
Defense
Development
Women

Home and Community
Real Progress is a safe, warm, affordable place to call home, in a community we cherish.

Sub-issue:
Crime

Food We Can Trust
Real Progress is healthy local food, with more jobs, environmental excellence and strong rural economies.

Sub-issues:
Fluoridation
Foot & Mouth
GM/Genetics

Clean Green Energy
Real Progress is safe energy, (em)-powering our lives, creating more jobs and protecting us from climate change.

Sub-issues:
Aviation
Climate Change
Reliable, Inclusive Transport
Zero Waste and Incinerators
Nuclear

Animal Rights
Real Progress would be a society that cared about the treatment of animals.

Sub-issue:
Foot & Mouth

By the People, For the People
Real Progress would be government as the servant, not the master.

Sub-issues:
Asylum
Earth Summit 2002
Firefighters' Dispute 2002/3
Politics
Gibraltar

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