After along hard
slog the Greens have not only established themselves as a viable party with a
significant profile, they have ensured that every other party now feels that
they need to have ‘green’ policies.
At this election
the Greens are mounting a significant challenge which is likely to have some
significant peaks, and maybe see the first Green MP.
The Greens have a
long list of progressive policies, from a clear and unequivocal anti-war stance
(unlike the Lib Dems), renationalising the railways and the need for sustainable
and renewable energy production (see
their manifesto).
However, they are
also a broad church and whilst some see themselves as radicals, anti-capitalists
and/or socialists others are more conservative. In Leeds the Greens have gone
into coalition with the Tories and in Oxford with the Lib Dems. In some areas
(like Waveney) the Greens are staunch defenders of council housing, in others
(like Brighton) they have voted for ALMO.
This is not an
argument to stay clear of the Greens, if anything quite the reverse. As a
growing and important progressive party it will find itself pulled by the same
forces that Labour has and it will need strong radical support to keep it on the
straight and narrow.
