WATERMELON TWENTY YEARS: GREEN LEFT FIGHTING FOR ECOSOCIALISM SINCE 2006. 2–4 OCTOBER 2026

 Cheers & Challenges for our Green Party

Roy Sandison

The leadership team of Zack Polanski, Mothin Ali and Rachel Millward have overseen a massive growth in membership and support for the Green Party, and unprecedented election results.

The party is now seen by many people as a viable left, ethical, honest party that will stand up for their community and call out big business interests. The Labour Party had to get rid of Keir Starmer because of the growing threat not just on the right but also, significantly, on the left. 

While many of us worry about the growth of the right, the fact is that many Labour MPs and their backers have for a long time invested time and political energy in trying to destroy the ideas of socialism, at the expense of fighting Farage and the right.

The defeat of Jeremy Corbyn

Corbynism was a nightmare for them, to the extent that they were willing to kill their own partyʼs possible success at the ballot box, and skilfully used the “sleeper” that was Starmer to try to extinguish democracy in the Labour Party — leaving many members and supporters with no choice but to leave, and join us.

Democracy in the GPEW

These new members expect a higher level of democracy, accountability and transparency, so we in the Green Party of England and Wales do need to ensure that all parts of the party act with better faith than we have unfortunately seen. We need to do better.

Green Left 

The GPEW has always had a strong left influence, and groups like Green Left have for 20 years been promoting the “new” idea of ecosocialism. We wanted to build on the basic concepts of socialist ideas and bring them up to date in respect of the real material threat that is climate change. This has been an education process for many on the left, and I am pleased to say that Green Left and co-thinkers led on it. Itʼs good to see Greens Organise doing similar work. Welcome, comrades.

Applaud Zack Polanski 

So I think for many of us, we knew “ecopopulism” would gain support among many people. Why would it not? It talks about rights, values, community, solidarity, power and hope — all basics of socialism. We must applaud Zack, and also Mothin, Rachel and others, for helping this great leap forward. Yes, a few minor mistakes may have been made, but it would be mean-spirited of anyone inside or outside the party on the left to be anything but generous in recognising their role in taking the Green Party the next step or two forward in the political struggle. 

Andy Burnham

 Finally, it is worth noting the “appointment” of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister. He clearly is more personable, and he does have some goodwill at the moment even from Green Party members. But can he really sustain that when he has to face down the interests of the capitalist class — and some of his own awful right-wing MPs — against the needs of working-class people? That is the real question over the next few years. Not just for him, but for us as well, with our newfound electoral power.

Green Party Councillor Proposes Living Wage For Lambeth

At a full Lambeth Council Meeting on Wed 28 Jan at 7 pm, Cllr Becca Thackeray, Lambeth's Green Party Councillor, is proposing a motion to make Lambeth Council a "Living Wage" employer. Currently through national pay bargaining rules, every direct employee is paid a Living Wage, but the hundreds of staff who work for the Council via contractors are often not and forced to endure poverty pay.

The motion commits the Council to paying all staff, including sub-contracted staff, the London Living Wage and to use local strategic partnerships and other private sector engagements to promote the living wage more widely.

In November, Green Councillor Jenny Jones successfully passed a motion to make Southwark Council a Living Wage employer. Southwark was only the second Borough to adopt official policy backing a Living Wage, with Lewisham being the other where there are 6 Green Party Councillors.

The Living Wage is the real minimum rate of pay that enables a worker to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their family. In London, the Living Wage currently stands at £7.45 per hour. The background to this figure can be found in the document, A Fairer London: The Living Wage in London (GLA 2008). Many service sector workers - including cleaners, security guards and catering staff - experience low pay and difficult, sometimes exploitative working conditions. It is estimated that in London alone 400,000 people fall into this working poverty trap.

It remains to be seen if the New Labour Council will support the resolution in Lambeth. The Living Wage is supported by trade unions across London. Whilst New Labour Councillors cross picket lines and force more job cuts, the Green Party continues to campaign in the interests of Lambeth's workers.

Socialist Candidates Challenge Lambeth UNISON Bureaucracy

A group of socialist activists in Lambeth have produced a manifesto which they hope will politicise UNISON members and provide the platform on which to build a "fighting, member-led branch" based on clear socialist politics. The manifesto was the basis for candidates to contest elections at the Lambeth UNISON AGM on a "Lambeth Activists" platform.


The platform currently comprises independent socialists, members of Permanent Revolution, the Alliance for Workers Liberty, Workers Power and Green Left, the ecosocialist platform within the Green Party.


Policies include fighting against all redundancies and job losses, maximising participation and control of the union by ordinary members and ending automatic and uncritical UNISON support for Labour in building a left alternative.


For more information, visit: http://lambethmilitants.blogspot.com/2009/01/lambeth-activists-for-fighting-member.html


James Caspell, a member of Green Left, won the post of Publicity Officer after making a speech in which he outlined a plan to "give members the confidence to fight the Council, fight the Government and ultimately fight capitalism". Rekha Khurana of Permanent Revolution took the posts of International Officer and Assistant Publicity Officer. Dan Jeffery, also of Permanent Revolution, was elected as a National Conference Delegate and Regional Council Delegate.


In his speech for the election of Membership Officer, which was lost by just three votes, Dan outlined that “we need to provide socialist answers to pay and job cuts”. He also highlighted the case of a colleague who because of privatisation had had her pay slashed and now had to work over 50 hours a week, while consultants for Lambeth in the same building get £1000 a day.


After the AGM, Rekha Khurana emphasised that far from being an electoralist front, the activists’ aim was to work with and engage all those who share a socialist political perspective and work towards rebuilding the union movement at the grassroots: “We need to coordinate our struggles with other local trade unions as well as with workers in other countries to win better rights for all”.


Other contested elections were narrowly won by the incumbent branch bureaucracy, though both the speeches and polices of candidates standing on the Lambeth Activists platform were widely supported amongst members, who welcomed the first set of seriously contested branch elections in a generation.


Notes to Editors


To see full platform, election results and list of candidates, please visit: http://lambethmilitants.blogspot.com/