Green Party of England and Wales

Green Party of England and Wales
Party leader	Jonathan Bartley Siân Berry
vice-chairman	Amelia Womack
founding	1990
Headquarters	1a Waterlow Road London N19 5NJ
Youth organization	Young Greens of England and Wales
Alignment	Green politics , republicanism
Colours)	green
British House of Commons	1/650
British House of Lords	2/784
London Assembly	2/25
Welsh Parliament	0/60
Local government in England & Wales	367/19023
Number of members	41,000 (2018)
International connections	Global Greens
European party	European Green Party (EGP)
Website	www.greenparty.org.uk

The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW, Welsh : Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr ) is the largest Green Party in the United Kingdom . The Wales Green Party is the only regional party with semi-autonomous status within the Green Party of England and Wales. The London Green Party is the regional party of the Green Party of England and Wales operating in the Greater London area . Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own stand-alone green parties, the Scottish Green Party and the Northern Ireland Green Party .

In the general election on May 6, 2010 , the party was able to win a seat in the House of Commons for the first time . In southern England constituency of Brighton Pavilion was Caroline Lucas successful. Lucas was again successful in her constituency in the following general election in 2015 , 2017 and 2019 . However, it remained only at this single seat. Like other smaller parties, the party is severely disadvantaged by the prevailing majority vote. The GPEW also has seats in the London Assembly and on many local councils. She is part of the European Green Party . In the European Parliament , they were up to the withdrawal from the EU of the United Kingdom represented by seven deputies who the Greens / European Free Alliance - Group belonged (G / EFA).

history

1973-1975: PEOPLE

An overpopulation article by expert Paul R. Ehrlich , published in Playboy , inspired Tony Whittacker, a former Coventry Conservative Party activist , to call the Club of Thirteen with his wife Lesley and others . Although most members of this group were rather skeptical of the desire to form a political party, a Green Party was created in 1973 in Coventry, which was named People . Simultaneously, the first issue will be published the Manifesto for a Sustainable Society (dt .: manifesto for a sustainable society ), containing the policies of the party and the Blueprint for Survival (dt .: plan for survival ), which in the journal The Ecologist appeared, was inspired (dt. survival movement ) of the newly founded party.

The party official Derek Wall thinks that this new political movement initially focused on the issue of "survival" that shaped the "dreary evolution" of the emerging environmental party in the 1970s. Furthermore, the effects of the “value revolution” of the 1960s would only be felt later. In his eyes, the party suffered from the fact that it received little media attention and that there was an "opposition of several environmentalists" that had brought about the experience with other emerging green parties such as Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen in Germany. In the British general election in February 1974 , the party received 4,576 votes; However, mandates in the lower house could not be obtained. This scenario was repeated in the new elections in October of the same year.

1975–1985: The Ecology Party

In 1975 the party was renamed Ecology Party (German: ecological party ). However, their continued existence was initially very questionable, as the party's local election results also improved only slowly. Although a total of three green local councils had already been elected in 1976 and 1977, the relative majority voting system, which was also used in local elections, meant that, despite average election results between five and eight percent, hardly any green candidates were successful.

At the 1977 party congress, the first party statutes were passed; Jonathon Porritt was elected to the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) . In the following years, Porritt became more and more the figurehead of the party and worked together with David Fleming on "giving the party an attractive appearance and a functioning structure."

Porritt's popularity continued to rise. In the 1979 general election , in which the party ran with the election program The Real Alternative (Eng. "The True Alternative"), they put up a total of 53 candidates, which was the first time they were entitled to an election advert on television. Although the election success was modest (39,918 votes, 0.1%), the increased attention led to a strong increase in the number of members (around 400 members in 1977, around 5000 members in 1979).

As a reaction to this respectable success, the party introduced the so-called Annual Spring Conferences (dt. " Annual Spring Conferences "), which should complement the Autumn Conferences (dt. " Autumn Conferences "). Soon afterwards the so-called post-1968 generation joined the party; Feminist positions also gained influence within the party. In the subsequent general election in 1983 the number of candidates (105) and votes (52,507 / 0.2%) rose slightly, but no breakthrough was in sight.

1985–1990: Green Party (UK)

At the 1985 Dover Congress, the party was renamed the Green Party ( Green Party ). This was at the suggestion of John Abineri , a former actor who had starred in the BBC series Survivors , and Chris Rose. Both had pleaded for the party name to be adapted to that of the European sister parties.

In 1986 another internal dispute broke out. While a wing that called itself the Party Organization Working Group (POWG) wanted to get the party structures streamlined, other members refused. In the course of this intra-party conflict, Paul Ekins and Jonathon Tyler, two prominent members of the POAG, left the party in the period that followed.

In the subsequent general election in 1987 , the number of candidates (133) and votes (89,812 / 0.3%) rose slightly, but no breakthrough was in sight. In the following two years, however, the number of members increased; media attention also increased.

The Greens apparently made their big breakthrough in the European elections in 1989 . The party won over 2 million votes (over 15%), more than any other green party in Europe. However, because of the majority voting system that was also in force in European elections at the time, the party was unable to win even a single mandate.

Politicians from the established parties were alarmed by this success and included some of the green positions in their election manifesto. At the same time, the party failed to cope with the increased attention or to retain the numerous new members (up to 20,000 in 1990) in the long term.

Since 1990: Green Party of England and Wales

Party old logo

Representation of GPEW in England by MPs at local and regional level in May 2014: Counties , including Greater London Districts , Boroughs and Unitary Authorities



The party’s appeal fell sharply again as early as 1990–1991, due to the fact that the wing battles were now strong. So who split in 1990 Scottish Green ( Scottish Green Party ) and the Northern Irish Greens ( Green Party in Northern Ireland ) amicably by the remaining English - Welsh part. The Welsh Greens also became an autonomous regional party ( Wales Green Party ), but remained within what is now the “Green Party of England and Wales”.

In the general election in 1992 the Greens won again slightly compared to the last elections (171,927 votes / 0.5% were achieved with 253 candidates), but this was much less than had been hoped for after the good result of the European elections in 1989.

This unexpectedly poor result plunged the party into a serious crisis, membership fell to less than 3,500 in 1995 and the Greens were practically no longer noticed in national media.

Furthermore, the electoral defeat led to financial problems over the years, since all parties have to deposit a deposit of £ 500 per candidate in lower house elections, which is only refunded if the vote (of the candidate) is 5% or more. 'In practice this is a tax on independent candidates and small parties.'

In local elections, on the other hand, the slight upward trend continued; in 1995 there were already over 20 green local councils.

In the 1997 general election , the Greens only ran 94 candidates for financial reasons. Although the total number of votes fell to 64,452 (0.2%), it was possible for the first time to hold a 'deposit' (ie to reach over 5% in an electoral district).

In the local elections in May 1999, the election of Green representatives in London district assemblies was successful for the first time. The Scottish sister party achieved a breakthrough in the elections to the Scottish Parliament, which took place at the same time . And just a month later, the GPEW managed to win two seats in the European Parliament in the European elections (now held by proportional representation) with Caroline Lucas in south-east England and Jean Lambert in London .

Election results since 2000:

• In 2000 it entered the London city assembly. There the Greens are now represented by 2 (of 25) MPs ( Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones ).
• 2001 received in the general election, 145 Green candidates 166,477 votes, which could be 'deposits' held 10th
• In 2004, Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert were re-elected in the European elections despite a reduction in the number of British seats.
• In 2005, at the general election won over a quarter million votes - the best the House-ever result. In the Brighton Pavilion constituency, Keith Taylor achieved 22% of the vote, the highest ever vote in elections for a Green candidate (compared to 9.3% in 2001).
• In 2006, a further 20 local council mandates were won, and the party now has 91 local councils. Strongholds are Brighton , Oxford , Lancaster and Norwich . The Greens are involved in the local governments of Leeds (together with Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats ), Lancaster (together with Liberal Democrats and Labor Party ), Morpeth (in an all-party administration) and Kirklees (with Liberal Democrats).
• In the 2010 general election , Caroline Lucas was elected the first Green Member of Parliament in the Brighton Pavilion constituency with 31.3% of the vote.
• In the 2015 general election , Caroline Lucas was re-elected in the Brighton Pavilion constituency, this time with 41.8% of the vote, ahead of runner-up Labor candidate Purna Sen, who got 27.3%. The UK Green parties received a total of 3.8% of the vote.
• Caroline Lucas was re-elected with 52.3% of the votes in the 2017 general election and 57.2% in 2019 .

• In the House of Lords (upper house) the Greens were represented for the first time by Lord Beaumont of Whitley .

politics

Philosophy and politics are the Manifesto for a Sustainable Society (program for a sustainable society set).

The party was created to combat environmental threats, as the founders saw it. To this day, that is the main focus of the party. It supports the Kyoto Protocol , but sees it as nothing more than a first step. She expressly advocates the so-called contraction and convergence (for example: "Reduction and approximation") as a method to reduce carbon dioxide emissions . Within the UK, it supports emissions trading . Some of these rights are to be distributed per capita, the rest would be sold to companies and organizations. The quotas should decrease from year to year.

The Greens are known as advocates of civil rights and freedoms and have a limitation on them, e.g. B. through the introduction of identity cards or the restriction of civil liberties in the course of the anti-terror legislation of Tony Blair's Labor Party , back.

The Greens rejected the Iraq war on principle, not only (like the Liberal Democrats ) because there was no second UN resolution .

The Greens reject the euro (due to the economic and political peculiarities of Great Britain) as well as the proposed EU constitution . In the course of the EU membership referendum in the United Kingdom in 2016 , however, the Greens explicitly advocated the United Kingdom's stay in the EU. In the 2017 general election , the Greens voted for a second referendum.

Like other green parties, the Green Party of England and Wales is advocating a quick phase-out of coal-fired power generation and nuclear energy . Further demands are the abolition of tuition fees, the legalization of cannabis and a more open migration and refugee policy.

organization

Membership numbers

year	Members
2002	5,900
2003	5,300
2004	6,300
2005	7,100
2006	7,000
2007	7,400
2008	7,500
2009	9,600
2010	12,800
2011	12,800
2012	12,600
2013	13,800
2014	31,800
2015	61,000

For ideological reasons, the Greens consciously decided against a chairperson as such. Instead, there are two party spokespersons ( principal speakers ), one man and one woman each. These are currently Jonathan Bartley and Siân Berry. Bartley has 2,018 city council ( councilor ) in the town of St. Leonard (western part of the district of Streatham ), an administrative department of the London Borough of Lambeth . Berry has been a member of the London Assembly since 2016 and the only GPEW councilor on Camden Council.

The National Green Party Executive (GPEx) is the party's executive committee. You belong to:

• 'Chair' (chairman)
• 'Policy Co-ordinator' (Program Coordinator)
• 'Campaigns Co-ordinator'
• 'Elections Co-ordinator'
• 'External Communications Co-ordinator' ( press officer )
• 'Local Party Support Co-ordinator' (basic work)
• 'Management Co-ordinator' (Managing Director)
• 'International Co-ordinator' (international affairs)
• 'Publications Co-ordinator' (public relations)
• 'Finance Co-ordinator'

In addition, there are the two party spokesmen as voiceless members. In order to be officially recognized as a party by the British Electoral Commission, the 'Chair' is referred to as the 'Party Leader' to the Commission - although the statutes expressly do not have such a position with corresponding powers and competencies.

Election results

Percentage results and total seats refer to England and Wales. General elections were carried out consistently according to majority voting , elections to the National Assembly for Wales and from 1999 also elections to the European Parliament according to proportional representation .

year	choice	Share of votes	Seats
1992	General election 1992	0.5%	0/562
1994	European elections in 1994	3.0%	0/76
1997	General election 1997	0.2%	0/569
1999	Election to the National Assembly for Wales 1999	2.5%	0/60
1999	European elections 1999	6.3%	2/76
2001	General election 2001	0.6%	0/569
2003	Election to the National Assembly for Wales 2003	3.5%	0/60
2004	2004 European elections	6.3%	2/68
2005	General election 2005	1.0%	0/569
2007	Election to the National Assembly for Wales 2007	3.5%	0/60
2009	European elections 2009	8.1%	2/63
2010	General election 2010	0.9%	1/573
2011	Election to the National Assembly for Wales 2011	3.4%	0/60
2014	European elections 2014	6.9%	3/64
2015	General election 2015	3.6%	1/573
2016	Election to the National Assembly for Wales 2016	3.0%	0/60
2017	General election 2017	1.6%	1/573
2019	European elections 2019	12.5%	7/64
2019	General election 2019	2.7%	1/573

Web links

Commons : Green Party of England and Wales  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The Green Party of England and Wales (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Brighton Pavilion Parliamentary constituency. BBC News, May 10, 2015, accessed May 10, 2015 . 
2. ↑ 2015 Election results. BBC News, May 12, 2015, accessed May 12, 2015 . 
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated September 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
4. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/14/green-party-loud-proud-backing-britain-europe-brexit-lucas
5. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/green-party-caroline-lucas-promises-second-brexit-referendum-general-election-2017-a7711876.html
6. ↑ https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/cc.html
7. ↑ https://www.greenparty.org.uk/we-stand-for/free-education.html
8. ↑ https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/du.html
9. ↑ https://www.odi.org/blogs/general-election-and-immigration-party-manifestos-explained
10. ^ Richard Keen: Membership of UK political parties. (PDF; 786 kB) House of Commons, August 11, 2015, accessed on May 18, 2016 (English).