It’s easy to be cynical about people on the other side of a political divide, and I’ve been as guilty as anyone in making quite blithe judgements about the ignorance and self-serving prejudices of the Tory right.
But sometimes people with very different views to your own can still be both interesting and well-meaning. This, dare I say it, is how the right-wing owner of Politicos bookshop, internet blogger and webcaster Iain Dale comes across in an interview I watched this week.
His web TV channel 18 Doughty Street has made some attempt to create space for controversial voices on the left as well as the right, featuring a regular slot by Green Party member Peter Tatchell, and also invites guests such as our own Shahrar Ali and last week Rupert Read.
Rupert did very well, I felt, as should our lead MEP candidate for the Eastern Region of England. Rupert could very well be elected, and held a coherent and provocative dialogue on roads and climate change that made Iain Dale question his own positions on occasion. It was quite a surprising conversation in many ways, pitching across other more philosophical issues including what Conservatism actually means, and whether there is a political future for the Greens.
Iain Dale is clearly a political geek like me, which possibly is part of why I feel he comes across as a reasonable human being. He mentions nearly all of our our high achievers, noting them as people who have managed to promote our views without making them seem backward-looking or doom-mongering.
After the interview, he blogged on the question of our political future. Unlike Iain Dale, nobody in the Green Party seriously thinks that other parties are likely to steal our agenda beyond rhetoric, but while other parties talk Green, we do have to demonstrate leadership on these issues. This is difficult without the resources of a parliamentary party, but there are ways we can do it.
The first and most important way is to present ourselves effectively - as Caroline and Darren already do, as Dale says. Part of this improved presentation is, I believe, about making it clearer who our political representatives and leadership are. We have a political leadership, after all, but don’t call it such.
Our leaders are Caroline Lucas and Derek Wall, in all but name. Caroline Lucas is our most prominent, respected personality and a leading campaigner on aviation, animal rights, food, climate change and energy. Her moral authority is clear within and without. Derek, although against using the title ‘leader’, is also not afraid to use his authority and internal status to exercise leadership and create political direction in the party, as you will see from his blog. And while that can only be a good thing, I think it is confusing to both members and the public to deny that these roles and approaches exist within the party.
I’m hoping the party, over the next month, will have the courage to take up the challenge of creating political Green leadership. There is a risk, of course. That risk is that we succeed in winning and exercising political power at national level, some time in the future. Nearly everyone who votes for us expects us to take that risk, and it would be good to send them the signal that we’re willing to be ready for that responsibility.
Ed said,
October 23, 2007 @ 7:41 am
Hi Jim.
Passing thought as a UKGP member: You should try and get the new logo up on the UKGP Wikipedia entry (there’s two entries I think, both using the old logo)
Cheers,
Ed
Jim Killock said,
October 23, 2007 @ 8:54 am
It’s true, it is not what we think our logo is, featuring our strapline (although it is what appears on ballot papers). Remember tho you can change it yourself tho – you don’t have to ask me – that’s the power of Wikipedia!
Rupert Read said,
October 24, 2007 @ 11:43 am
Nice post, Jim; I agree with you that I thought it interesting that Dale seemed genuinely willing to stop and think about some of the key points that I raised.
The problem with not having Leaders, as you imply, is lack of accountability. Take this interesting post, from the debate (not a very inspiring debate, generally — not really worth reading most of it) on this issue currently happening on the website of the EASTERN DAILY PRESS; this post is from an ex-member of the Green Party:
Now look at the local party [Norwich Green Party]. It floundered along for years until it got itself a leader. The leader it got of course wasn’t elected or anything, he simply stepped into the position, organised everyone and told them what to do to play the elctorial system. With a person in charge the local party has grown into a major political force locally, it would never have happened without without him. What I don’t like about the local situation is the leader of the local party claims he isn’t one because the Greens don’t have leaders, that’s a close to a deception IMO.
Mike Molloy said,
November 3, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
Nice to see such open-mindedness on a Green Party blog, rather than the usual knee jerk stuff that passes for eco-socialism and glad too that this was more interesting than the ‘discussion’ between Wall and Lucas on radio 4, the last piece of GP media exposure I had the misfortune to hear. (God knows, how you will manage now they are (as you very frankly acknowledge) joint leaders in all but name of your party and have such different approaches to organization and, one suspects, politics but that is your (very big) problem…) What I really I can’t help wondering who you guys will actually ally with if and when you ever get a modicom of electoral success… I’m pleased you can talk to Tories.
Jim Killock said,
November 8, 2007 @ 9:00 am
Hi Mike
Let’s be clear, though: talking to people is very different to finding we have great underlying common ground. In general, Greens have found it easier to co-operate with parties of the left. i guess this is because business interests on the right have been placed against vital environmental legislation. Classic cases of this can still be seen in the voting record of the Conservative Party today in the EU parliament, where they have recently voted to water down chemical industry standards and for lower emissions targets for the car industry.
Personally, I am always in favour of talking to people – we all have to change – but that is a far cry from thinking that the Tories are likely to be the natural ally of the Green Party. Despite the rhetoric, I think it is very unlikely.