A message for Green Party members in England and Wales

The Green Party of England and Wales referendum on the leadership structure of the party is now well under way. This blog is unashamedly in the Green Empowerment camp (against the proposal). I am pleased to post the following message to GPEW members from some supporters of Green Empowerment who have given many years service to the Party:

Dear member

If you haven’t yet voted in the referendum on having a single Green Party Leader, then we’d like to urge you to vote NO.

We are all committed to seeing the Green Party’s support and influence grow stronger, and we dedicate much of our lives to making that happen. The Green Party is making real progress. We have doubled our number of councillors in the last four years, through the dedication and hard work of local activists. But we believe that to adopt a more conventional structure, with a single Party Leader, would be a step backwards - abandoning the distinctiveness that attracts many of our most committed supporters and party workers.

We are all being told that many people outside the Party believe we should have a single Leader. But do those people actually support what the Green Party is trying to achieve? And do you think they appreciate the sort of obstacles that stand in our way, and the levels of commitment it takes to overcome them

In the early nineties the Party changed its structure because we were told that media attention and success would follow if we did. But the promised success and increased profile didn’t come, and over the next few years the Party grew weaker rather than stronger - losing members as it did so.

We believe passionately in the Green Party's commitment to participatory democracy and that we must actively demonstrate a model of collective leadership to wider society. The massive problems facing humanity can only be addressed by empowering people to contribute to the solutions we so desperately need - not by deference to distant leaders.

Those people who most want to see the fundamental changes that are needed to create a Green society, are those who are most opposed to conventional power structures. Over 300 members have now signed a petition against the current proposals, including many elected members, party officers, activists and new members.

The Green Party is widely respected for having principles that we’re prepared to stand up for. Let’s not start throwing them away.

Please vote NO

Jenny Jones, London Assembly Member, Southwark Councillor and former GPEx Chair
Derek Wall, Principal Speaker
Penny Kemp, former Executive Chair
Jonathan Dixon, Scarborough Councillor and lead Euro candidate for Yorkshire & Humber
Romayne Phoenix, Lewisham Councillor
Dr Shahrar Ali, London Policy Coordinator
Peg Alexander, former Principal Speaker
Andy D'Agorne, York Councillor
Margaret Wright, former Principal Speaker

For more information, please visit: http://www.greenempowerment.org.uk