Dylan Lewis-Creser

The Young Greens is the youth and student wing of the Green Party of England and Wales. This summer, members of the Young Greens will be voting to elect a new executive. Bright Green is offering each of the candidates a chance to set out their vision.

I believe the Young Greens are about the future. A brighter, greener and better future for all people regardless of who they are and creating a community within the Green Party that is passionate about youth interests and fighting for them when it really matters.

The Young Greens have a very proud tradition of working with other affiliated and liberation groups in the Green Party to advance our common goals of liberation politics and environmental justice combined, and I am hoping to continue this proud tradition if I am elected to become equality & diversity officer.

My experience in the Young Greens over the past few years has been nothing but incredible love, acceptance and a drive for a fairer world where people and planet are put first before greedy capitalists. With two motions (one of which was mine) passing last Convention to solidify our stance as an eco-socialist organisation, our advocacy for students in the A Level & GCSE results debacle of 2020 and standing up for university students has proven to me that the we are a group of people who care and have the power to change not only the Green Party but wider society and guide us towards environmental, social, economic and racial justice that is vital for a sustainable and just world.

As equality & diversity officer, I will work closely with other liberation groups in the Green Party and co-ordinate our work so we can have the biggest impact and push as a united front for the intersectional liberation we know is needed in the Green Party. Whether it’s fighting for trans rights, calling out and working to eliminate institutional racism and sexism or ensuring accessibility for us young people and disabled people to Green Party events, I am committed to making the Young Greens as inclusive as possible and using my influence in the wider party for the same benefit. However, I recognise that I cannot work alone and the wide range of lived experience and expertise that we have in the Young Greens will inform my work and I will be working with the amazing liberation officers on the executive committee as well as the relevant liberation groups to centre marginalised people instead of working from my own unconscious biases and focusing on my own lived experience as a white, able-bodied non-binary queer person.

We need to organise better, with the Green Party becoming an unfortunately hostile place to many LGBTIQA+ people and the vocal minority that consistently speaks against liberation getting louder and louder. We know that we have the majority on our side, but we need to organise and mobilise to match them. That’s why I will be working across liberation groups, especially with the LGBTIQA+ Greens (of which I am secretary) to ensure that we support them and give the backing of the Young Greens to the issues of liberation – we stand as an organisation committed to inclusion but we must back those words with actions.