Analysis: Who should lead the Green Party?
As voting for the Green Party’s leadership team opens on 25 July, Bright Green sent all the candidates some questions to answer and you can see their responses here.
Below, Joe Lo gives his view on what the candidates’ responses suggest about their leadership bids, although more will become clear as the contest goes on.
Bright Green will be reporting from hustings and trying to interview as many of the leadership candidates as possible so like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date.
David Williams
When asked about his experience, David Williams highlights his impressive thirty years as a local councillor and leader of the Greens on Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council. When asked why he wants to run though, he mentions stimulating debate and scrutinising candidates. This suggests that he’s not in the contest to win it. Scrutinising candidates also strikes me as the job of membership, not other candidates.
His answers to other questions are standard, sensible mainstream Green responses. He wants to work together with Labour on social justice but examine any alliance very carefully; he wants a referendum on any final withdrawal from the EU and to campaign to rejoin it. When asked what separates him from other candidates, he mentions his experience in public office and “active role in real, practical politics”. Of the other candidates, Lucas is the only one to have held public office as far as I’m aware. However, the other candidates would likely claim to also have taken an active role in real, practical politics. Likewise, his desire to tackle issues that matter to working-class people outside of London and the South-East is (presumably) shared by other candidates. Is a man from Oxford the right person to act on this desire though? Or should it be Lord or Malone, the two candidates from outside the South-East, or simply the best candidate? (Update: I’ve been informed that Williams was born in Salford and lived in Manchester for 40 years and so has a better link to the North than I first thought)
You can watch Williams in action, outlining why people should vote Green in 2012 here.
David Malone
David Malone comes across as a smart guy who knows about both finance and science. As you can see here, he’s an informed and accomplished public speaker when talking about the topics he knows about. Does this mean he has what it takes to be a political party leader though? Does writing a book and being an expert prepare you for a hostile interview with John Humphries or Laura Kuenssburg? Does it mean you can inspire a local party and make voters like you? If he has experience dealing with the media, strategizing and organising elections, he doesn’t mention it (although we did have a strict word limit).
Several of his answers make a lot of sense. As he rightly points out, “if we wish to be electable then people must stop thinking we are nice people who save whales. They must think, the Green Party is the party that understands what is rotten in our economic and financial system, knows how to fix it.” However, he doesn’t explain why he’s the man to change voters’ minds on the Green Party. Laudibly too, he opposes having another vote on EU membership because “we cannot pick and choose which democratic decisions we will honour and which we won’t”.
When asked what separates him from other candidates, he says he’s from the North, near Scarborough to be precise. This does separate him from Caroline Lucas, Jonathan Bartley and David Williams although Clive Lord lives in Yorkshire and Simon Cross is from Sheffield (although he now lives in Southend). It also separates him from the current leadership team, which consists of the London-based Natalie Bennet, Shahrar Ali and Amelia Womack. The party does certainly need more Northern voices but whether this is enough to vote for Malone is another question.
Clive Lord
Clive Lord comes across as an unashamedly old-school deep Green offering “to bring the party back to its original raison d’etre – stopping ecological destruction”. While he’s been fighting the good fight for over 40 years, I have doubts over whether his strategy to “recruit the 2.3million who voted Green in the 1989 European election” will work. Although this post-Chernobyl 1989 result was impressive, many of those voters have now passed away and the world and British voters have changed significantly in the 27 years since. I also don’t think voters will take kindly to his assertion that “we need to tell the places which voted ‘Leave’ that their plight is due to this government, not Europe”. Voters tend to dislike being “told” things by politicians and they will also dislike his suggestion of a “Brexit re-match”. If you want to see Lord speak, you can watch this 2012 video of him debating whether ‘green growth’ is an oxymoron (17 minutes in).
Simon Cross
As with Williams, Cross’s answers suggest he’s not fighting to win this election but “because [he] believes the grassroots of the party should be represented [in the election]”. Again, like Williams, his answers are mainstream and sensible. Although he’s not been a councillor, he has run in local and national elections and claims to be the first Green candidate to save a deposit in the area. He doesn’t want a re-run of the Brexit referendum and says rightly that voters used Brexit to “demand the ear of their politicians”. When asked what separates him from the other candidates, he says he is “straight talking and a listener”. Is straight talking what we want though? Or are ‘straight talkers’ often just unpolished, gaffe-making media performers? If he has experience dealing with hostile national media, he doesn’t mention it. While being a listener is good, is it enough to be leader?
Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley
We know all know all about Caroline Lucas’s abilities but Jonathan Bartley also has strong media experience from his role as the party’s Work and Pensions spokesperson. In particular, he took on Iain Duncan Smith and Andrew Neil on the Daily Politics, which you can see 14 minutes and 28 minutes into this video.
As he points out, he’s also been a major part of the Green Party’s improving electoral fortunes in the South London borough of Lambeth. He was the campaign manager in a recent by-election where the Greens quadrupled their vote.
The main concrete pledge the pair offer is to establish an Equalities Commission to increase diversity and inclusivity. The 150 words we gave them isn’t enough to flesh out this idea but we hope to find out the details of this Commission shortly.
While it might be correct to deduce that Simon Cross and David Williams’s answers suggest that they’re not in the contest to win it, if that is how they come across then they’re just being honest – the contest for leader ended in any meaningful sense once Caroline had announced, the day before nominations opened, that she was standing (even if as a joint candidate). Had that announcement been left until later, then we might have had some clearer declarations on why candidates were standing, and a broader range of candidates as well.
Also, David Williams might live in Oxford now, but he was born in Salford, lived in the Manchester area for over 40 years, and still speaks with a broad Lancashire accent, so I think he can justifiably claim to be “of the north”.
The word Team is absent the analysis in the article. The green way is very much one of a collegiate leadership, as Sharer Ali memorably says we are all leaders. This is not just a slogan in a devolved democratic system where policy and action of an executive carry out the wishes of the polity and does not impose its will upon it the vote should very much be thought of as picking a team and the best team with complimentary qualities in all positions. In any team continuity at the heart with proven effectiveness is a big plus so in the leadership question I place that to one side and look at Shahrar and Amelia who have had an amazing 2 year them and I feel they deserve and have earned the chance to continue their great work for a further two years, this is no disrespect to Andrew Cooper and the other excellent candidates but with Natalie stepping down continuity at deputy with a proven and remarkably effective team would be remarkably wasteful decision in my opinion. this then leads to the question of Leadership.
If one is persuaded by the two deputies argument Made above the constitution of the Green Party of England and Wales provides that there be only one Leader, in the case of co leaders then only one deputy is elected.
It is a shame Jonathan Bartley is not standing in his own right for leader, I believe it is foolhardy to have the sole Green MP at present in the UK parliament as either Joint or Sole leader, it is not as if within the House of commons the formal title is of any practical or formal use and the party should be supporting Caroline not also looking too her for leadership.
When one evens out the playing field and considers Jonathan Bartley in his own right out of the sheltered lea of Caroline the question would look more stark and this election ceases to look like the predicted coronation. With the status quo in the deputy argument refreshed in our minds we need to look at the field afresh, I see a field with out a co leadership bid even for many who might have at first instictively have been Drawn by the Lucas gravitas.
No another point should enter our thinking the Membership is 4 ties the level than it was in 2012 when the Leadership was last contested that contest had a low turnout as well going back to 2008 the leadership has been secured on a low turnout and less than 3500 votes. how many of the 60,000 voting members will exercise their franchise this time, what drew the new membership to the Green Party, Natalie Bennet for sure but also Shahrar and Amelia all three through tireless work, but also the other candidates who stood in the record number of seats contested in the 2015 election.
The system used for the election is also the Single transferable Alternate Vote with six candidates and one seat. second third fourth and possibly 5th preferences may well play a very large part in this leadership election, If I suspect the membership will want to maintain some stability and continuity not to say loyalty and thanks to the proven deputy team of Amelia and Shahrar.
So then to the Candidates Clive , Simon and the Davids, DaveM and DaveW. if as a member you want 1 leader and 2 deputies thats the choice if the co leader option is taken its just 1 deputy and I think thats a huge waste of real political capital and wilfull destrucion of a dynamic that works with a proven track record.
With enlarged Membership, an expectation of a high turnout and the strong base for Shahrar and Amelia, the Coronation ticket might not even be top at the first ballot, with preference choices coming in from eliminated candidates my bet is the co leadership bid will be eliminated in round 3 or 4 with the two davids in a close outcome that could go either way by round 5, bizarrely the second and third choices of those placing Lucas and Bartley first on their ballots may well prove the decisive block of votes.
thats my analysis and I would call the odds evens on the two Davids and 2-1 for Lucas Bartley, Clive lord 10-1 and Simon Cross 7-2 on, on the deputy leadership Shahrar and Amelia 1-2 on joint favourites the others 6-1 bar non.
Test post
My original comment still awaits moderation?
London-based Amelia Womack?
Did the writer forget that she’s just contested the National Assembly for Wales elections and is a member of the Wales Green Party?
The word Team is absent the analysis in the article. The green way is very much one of a collegiate leadership, as Sharer Ali memorably says we are all leaders. This is not just a slogan in a devolved democratic system where policy and action of an executive carry out the wishes of the polity and does not impose its will upon it the vote should very much be thought of as picking a team and the best team with complimentary qualities in all positions. In any team continuity at the heart with proven effectiveness is a big plus so in the leadership question I place that to one side and look at Shahrar and Amelia who have had an amazing 2 year them and I feel they deserve and have earned the chance to continue their great work for a further two years, this is no disrespect to Andrew Cooper and the other excellent candidates but with Natalie stepping down continuity at deputy with a proven and remarkably effective team would be remarkably wasteful decision in my opinion. this then leads to the question of Leadership.
If one is persuaded by the two deputies argument Made above the constitution of the Green Party of England and Wales provides that there be only one Leader, in the case of co leaders then only one deputy is elected.
It is a shame Jonathan Bartley is not standing in his own right for leader, I believe it is foolhardy to have the sole Green MP at present in the UK parliament as either Joint or Sole leader, it is not as if within the House of commons the formal title is of any practical or formal use and the party should be supporting Caroline not also looking too her for leadership.
When one evens out the playing field and considers Jonathan Bartley in his own right out of the sheltered lea of Caroline the question would look more stark and this election ceases to look like the predicted coronation. With the status quo in the deputy argument refreshed in our minds we need to look at the field afresh, I see a field with out a co leadership bid even for many who might have at first instictively have been Drawn by the Lucas gravitas.
No another point should enter our thinking the Membership is 4 ties the level than it was in 2012 when the Leadership was last contested that contest had a low turnout as well going back to 2008 the leadership has been secured on a low turnout and less than 3500 votes. how many of the 60,000 voting members will exercise their franchise this time, what drew the new membership to the Green Party, Natalie Bennet for sure but also Shahrar and Amelia all three through tireless work, but also the other candidates who stood in the record number of seats contested in the 2015 election.
The system used for the election is also the Single transferable Alternate Vote with six candidates and one seat. second third fourth and possibly 5th preferences may well play a very large part in this leadership election, If I suspect the membership will want to maintain some stability and continuity not to say loyalty and thanks to the proven deputy team of Amelia and Shahrar.
So then to the Candidates Clive , Simon and the Davids, DaveM and DaveW. if as a member you want 1 leader and 2 deputies thats the choice if the co leader option is taken its just 1 deputy and I think thats a huge waste of real political capital and wilfull destrucion of a dynamic that works with a proven track record.
With enlarged Membership, an expectation of a high turnout and the strong base for Shahrar and Amelia, the Coronation ticket might not even be top at the first ballot, with preference choices coming in from eliminated candidates my bet is the co leadership bid will be eliminated in round 3 or 4 with the two davids in a close outcome that could go either way by round 5, bizarrely the second and third choices of those placing Lucas and Bartley first on their ballots may well prove the decisive block of votes.
thats my analysis and I would call the odds evens on the two Davids and 2-1 for Lucas Bartley, Clive lord 10-1 and Simon Cross 7-2 on, on the deputy leadership Shahrar and Amelia 1-2 on joint favourites the others 6-1 bar non.
On a point of fact Amelia was London based at the time of her election, but is now living in Wales.
With all due respect to the other candidates, it has to be Caroline Lucas, she has shown herself to properly represent us, and she holds her own both inside and outside Parliament. Along with her I would take either Amelia or Jonathan, they both seem capable.
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I would vote for Caroline Lucas & Amelia Womack.
Oh for sure. Lucas, Womack and Sian Berry in the London mayoral team are the real deal.
I blogged my response to this article here. The original comment seems to have been stuck in the Ether
http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2016/07/calling-odds-green-party-leadership.html