Greens in Power - What officers should know.

 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.