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Ghost Dog

(16,881 posts)
Fri Sep 2, 2016, 10:41 AM Sep 2016

Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley voted joint leaders of Green party

... Lucas, who led the party from 2008-12, used her section of a joint acceptance speech to lambast the legacy of Brexit, describing a political landscape where “trust has been shattered and the truth lies buried”.

“At what point did it become OK to produce posters so dehumanising, so degrading and so despicable that they are compared to 1930s propaganda – even by a Conservative chancellor of the exchequer? ... Our political class – so gravely out of touch that they are surprised when years of scapegoating migrants for our social and economic ills come home to roost...”

... Bartley noted Jeremy Corbyn’s recent idea of a universal basic income, saying the policy “offers genuine social security and opportunity to all – even a Labour party looking for more of our policies to adopt.”

In a direct appeal to Labour voters he said: “Our message to others who share a belief in a progressive modern Britain is this – old tribal loyalties are dying and voters can no longer be taken for granted. The era of two-party politics is over. It’s the voting system that is still stuck in the past...”

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/02/caroline-lucas-and-jonathan-bartley-voted-joint-leaders-of-green-party
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Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley voted joint leaders of Green party (Original Post) Ghost Dog Sep 2016 OP
I'm very glad to see Lucas back in the leadership. Denzil_DC Sep 2016 #1
I've said it before and will say it again T_i_B Sep 2016 #2
Yes, I'd like to see Labour and the Greens working together, too. non sociopath skin Sep 2016 #3
The coalition completly wiped out the Lib Dems round here T_i_B Sep 2016 #4
Here's the essence of the joint speech: Ghost Dog Sep 2016 #5

T_i_B

(14,737 posts)
2. I've said it before and will say it again
Sat Sep 3, 2016, 05:15 AM
Sep 2016

Creating a formal alliance with the Greens should be something of a priority for both Labour and the Lib Dems. We all need to start working together more if we are to beat the Tories and UKIP.

non sociopath skin

(4,972 posts)
3. Yes, I'd like to see Labour and the Greens working together, too.
Sat Sep 3, 2016, 05:40 AM
Sep 2016

The Labour Left and the Greens seem to have mutual respect and a decent working relationship on Tyneside and Wearside.

I do not trust the Lib Dems, though. They are, even more than the old Liberal Party, a party of the Centre Right and their ways are devious in the extreme, making them untrustworthy allies.

A colleague of mine who recently stood as a Labour candidate in Newcastle was subjected to a mendacious campaign organised by her Lib Dem opponent. Fortunately, the plan backfired and she won handsomely in what had been a Lib Dem seat for many years.

Wouldn't trust 'em as far as I could throw 'em!!

The Skin

T_i_B

(14,737 posts)
4. The coalition completly wiped out the Lib Dems round here
Sat Sep 3, 2016, 05:49 AM
Sep 2016

They are starting to regroup, but it's very early days and they still have a lot of Clegg era baggage. I have seen Lib Dem literature for a local council by-election and it appears that they are still trying to act as a surrogate Tory party in Labour areas, (wouldn't surprise me if they tried posing as a surrogate Labour party in the more Tory areas round here at the same time).

I should also mention that at a hustings meeting at the last general election I was very impressed with the Green party candidate for my constituency.

If all things were equal I would be throwing my lot in with the Lib Dems right now, but all things are not equal, especially when the constituency I live in is in severe danger of going Tory for the first time since 1935 at the next election.

 

Ghost Dog

(16,881 posts)
5. Here's the essence of the joint speech:
Sat Sep 3, 2016, 07:52 AM
Sep 2016
https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2016/09/02/jonathan-bartley-and-caroline-lucas-first-speech-to-conference/

... The new Prime Minister may claim, Brexit means Brexit, but that means nothing until we know what the terms of any Brexit deal will be.  

We cannot accept a deal that doesn’t offer hope and security to both those who voted to Leave and those who voted to Remain.

Whether it’s the environmental protections, workers’ rights, a culture of peace and free movement that the EU has delivered - all these must be at the heart of any future outside Europe.

We have to turn the defeat of the referendum into a gain for real democracy, based on truthful debate...

... One of the reasons people feel disaffected is because our democracy is broken.

This country has a completely dysfunctional electoral system where – outside a handful of marginal swing seats – your views, your voice – and your vote – count for nothing.   

Conference if we’re to set about healing the deep divisions, which this referendum has laid bare, then we urgently need to build a more representative, inclusive democracy.

And Conference, that can only be brought about by reforming our antiquated, outdated, redundant electoral system.

We must also listen to concerns about deindustrialisation...  

... We must listen to concerns about housing, about health, about crime.  

And yes to people’s fears about immigration too.

A fear stoked up by those using it as a convenient scapegoat or distraction...

... The politics of fear has delivered everything we were afraid of: a political, social and economic crisis...

... Green politics is about giving people real control – and that means looking forwards not backwards.  

Taking control of our democracy  

Taking control of our railways so they are owned by the public.  

Taking control of the NHS, and keeping it firmly out of private hands  

Taking control of our energy systems, our banking system, our schools, and our communities.  

They belong to all of us and the politics of hope will give all of us control...

... Firstly, a Green Industrial Strategy that will deliver real security and prosperity...

... Imagine modernising the UK infrastructure so Britain’s future can be energy lean and time rich.

Local communities, empowered to take control of their own energy futures.

The security of an affordable – and solar panel clad - roof over everyone’s head...

... Second, we need a radical redistribution of both wealth and power...

... Modern capitalism has delivered excesses that are not just divisive, but morally unacceptable.  

Only a great realignment can narrow the inequalities gap that is fracturing Britain.  

Inequality is a criminal and cynical loss of human potential.

We know more equal societies perform better and only a truly green economy will enable everyone to flourish.  

An economy in which people are not only paid a real Living Wage, but where there is a maximum pay ratio between the highest paid and the lowest.

Where paying tax is welcomed as a way to share in the society we are building together.  

And where a universal basic income offers genuine security and opportunity to all...

... For those for whom the ground is always shifting, the British welfare state, set up in momentous times, is a lifeline.

In these equally momentous times, we want to reclaim our welfare system from the clutches of those using it to attack and threaten those in need.  

In just a few generations, instead of being something to be celebrated and cherished, it has become something to be dismantled and destroyed...

... And Conference, as the government weaponises welfare in pursuit of a corrupt and morally bankrupt ideology, we say loudly and clearly, we do not consent...

... Green ownership is about having a stake in what matters, because how else are people supposed to care?  

It means democratising the economy, with banks to serve the people not the other way round.

Corporate taxation back under control, and financial structures that answer to you, not to the City of London and its shareholders.   

We need an economy of, by and for the people...

... We can do this with a new political settlement - that will crack open the system and pave the way for a radical new relationship between the regions and the centre...

... Greens value, know and understand the power of local and the power of place and we can be at the forefront of re-balancing democracy.

A constitutional convention that involves the whole country and explores everything from an English Parliament to a new constitution that entrenches our fundamental rights.  

We should not be frightened of English democracy.

New, civic parliaments and assemblies can bring power closer to the people...

... And as part of this new settlement, everyone’s voice must be heard – not just the swing voters in marginal seats.  

Every vote needs to count.

So we are resolute in wanting to explore the potential for progressive alliances with other parties that will deliver fair votes......

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2016/09/02/jonathan-bartley-and-caroline-lucas-first-speech-to-conference/
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