Recently I was asked to explain what are the key characteristics and motivations for Greens in positions of power on local councils. This was for officers who were unfamiliar with Greens and didn't understand what drove them. It is important that Greens are understood by the people who help us to make our political commitments a reality in the areas that we represent.
I have been a Green Party Cabinet member myself from 2000 to 2006 and have worked with Greens in other Councils in positions of influence or formal power. So I took some soundings from a range of people in the Green Party and this is what I came up with.
The importance of
the climate emergency
Greens have a sense
of mission particularly with regard to the Climate Emergency, so this is
unsurprisingly a strong focus. The first Council Climate Emergency was declared
by Bristol City Council in a motion proposed by our now leader Cllr Carla
Denyer.
No climate
justice without social justice
Greens are acutely
aware that climate justice and social justice must come hand in hand. Those
that are placed at the greatest risk by the climate emergency are the most
vulnerable. Greens will be interested in and aim for restorative actions to
address both, such as prioritising insulation for low income households
Compromise is not
a likely option
There is no trading
off environmental priorities against economic ones. Telling Greens we are going
to do these things that will create jobs, housing etc but will have a
significantly harmful environmental impact will not go down well.
A sense of
urgency
The sense of urgency
to address climate issues may well be more palpable than other parties as it has
been top of the Greens agenda for decades.
Economic growth
is not a driver for Green Cllrs
In the economy
Growth is not seen as the goal but sustainability recognising that the economy
is dependent on the environment to function. Greens are more likely to driven
by ideas such as thoughts espoused in Doughnut Economics that look at all the outputs
Green Councillors
– Resource or challenge
Many Greens are well
informed on climate matters, energy efficiency, renewable energy, biodiversity
etc and so can be regarded as an informed resource or a challenge to
professionals. How this goes will very much be about how Green Cllrs and
Officers approach each other.
Certainty
As things Greens
have been saying for decades are now recognised as mainstream this gives many
Greens a sense of certainty in their views and opinions and sometimes that means
certainty about things that are not yet mainstream.
Need for evidence
to back assertions
Greens like anyone
can be wrong on green issues but if they are, then more effort might be required
to demonstrate they are wrong and referencing sources is important as is the
perceived legitimacy of those sources.
No whipping
system
Greens are of course
members of a Party, but they don’t have a Party whipping system like other
parties have. Of course, they would like all their members to vote the same way
but if one votes a different way and the reasons are understood it is not
necessarily the end of the world.
The past is the past
Greens will feel no
obligation to carry on with decisions made by previous administrations if they
conflict with their values
Space to innovate
Some officers may
have felt constrained and unable to try new radical projects. Greens may well
be the Councillors who will give officers the space to try new things where
previous administrations may have been too ‘small c’ conservative. They will
want to show their difference from what has gone before so innovation may be
encouraged.
Natural
co-operators – no honestly!
Despite their
certainty, sense of urgency and mission and rejection of conventional economics
Greens can be natural co-operators and are not as traditionally partisan as
other some other parties.
