Green Left Rejects the Green
Party’s Remain Pact With Liberal Democrats
Green Left says ‘no’ to
supporting Jo Swinson’s second rate Tories. The Liberal Democrats nationally
oppose our Green values.
Green Left believes a step
forward for the green movement in the UK has taken place recently, with many
people joining both the Green Party and Labour Party, reflecting real concerns
about the threat of climate change to our very existence on this planet.
Green Left welcomes the fact that
the Green New Deal is gaining support on the left, especially in the Labour
Party, and we believe that Greens should engage with others who
share the same policies as us, to build the green movement for change which is
the only way to save the planet.
Green Left believes the mass
movement of Extinction Rebellion and the Youth Strikes shows up the pro
capitalist parties for what they are – gambling with the planet. The Lib Dems
are part of the problem not the solution.
The Liberal Democrats are a party
whose leader, Jo Swinson, received funding from a major fracking company and
voted for fracking. She and her party also voted for the bedroom tax, benefit
cuts and the introduction of Universal Credit, the scrapping of the education
maintenance, increased tuition fees, opposed increasing the tax rate on those
earning £150,000, supported cuts to the police and emergency services,
supported zero hours contracts, supported the badger cull and did little to
challenge climate change, preferring instead nuclear power.
The Lib Dems are also uncritical supporters of the
EU, unlike the Greens who want major democratic reform and accountability. The
Lib Dems reject a proper further referendum that allows people a democratic say
on any EU deal or no deal.
Green Left believes Caroline Lucas was right to
warn how dangerous the Lib Dems position of ignoring the Referendum result,
and instead going for Revoke, is : “I certainly think that
the Lib Dem way out is arrogant, self-indulgent, cynical and very dangerous. I
think that will put fuel on the fire,” https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/18/caroline-lucas-lib-dems-revoke-and-remain-stance-brexit-is-arrogant
Green Party policy has been for a
second people’s vote, and in this case is closer to that of Jeremy Corbyn
and the Labour Party, who also support a second referendum, than the
Liberal Democrats’ Revoke position.
Green Left is very concerned that the implied call
to support Liberal Democrat General Election candidates where
the Green Party is not standing and where the Labour candidate was either
the sitting MP or is the best placed candidate to defeat the Tory MP
is an incorrect position to take - especially if that person
supports anti-austerity, proportional representation, a Green New Deal and a people’s
vote.
Therefore, we urge Green Party members and
supporters to support the Labour Party candidate in these areas.
The UniteToRemain pact
contradicts the Green Party’s initial position that this should be a Climate
Emergency election. Instead the pact makes it a Brexit election.
ENDS
Green Left
is an Eco-Socialist current within the Green Party of England and Wales.
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