ANSWERS FROM GREEN PARTY INTERNAL ELECTION CANDIDATES

THEO SIMON

I agree with the GPTU Group that it would be ridiculous to get rid of the TULO post, and a huge political and tactical mistake.  I am relieved that there has been a stay of execution in this regard. Our connection with organised Labour has probably never been more important to build on than it is now, as I believe will become apparent over the coming months.  

If elected TULO on GPEX I intend to prove the indispensable value of this post.  I believe that raising TU work to a high profile within the party will put to bed any plans to sideline organised labour from our struggle for a Just Transition to a sustainable world.  The workplace is where most of us, because we have no other option, reproduce the ecocidal system everyday, and organising around green ideas in the workplace is the only way will end that cycle now, in the timescale necessary. It's also the only place where we can drive through and maintain the improvements in working class life which will be massively under attack in the unfolding economic crisis.  We literally need the unions to defend Green Party members, most of whom are workers too.

It's a sign of how urgently we need to raise union awareness within the party that this could even be contemplated.  As TULO I would work for branches to align locally with organised workers to create a network of green union solidarity, and promote the Just Transition message wherever and whenever possible.  It's hugely significant that last July the Cammell Laird shipyard workers occupation raised the call for nationalisation and a Just Transition.  The GP should have been there supporting them.  There will be more calls like this in the future I'm certain. I think we'll find we're pushing at an open door, if we are prepared to leave our comfort zone and engage with the daily reality of people's workplace struggles and the rapidly increasing membership base of our unions.

HANNAH GRAHAM

I realise this reorganisation is part of the ongoing Green Party Holistic Review process, which I strongly oppose. When the Holistic Review was first proposed, I was Young Greens Co-Chair. I share exactly the same concerns as you about representation on the new bodies, because Young Greens and other bodies in the party also face the threat of having roles removed on the new structures.

At every point possible (whether this be on GPEx, at various Conferences or on my personal social media), I have condemned the acts of the Holistic Review, and voted against it.

On the Trade Union Liaison Officer (TULO) post, I absolutely agree with you. It is a serious mistake by the GPEW to ignore the concerns and voices of our members and supporters in Trade Unions, but also to the wider Trade Union membership (6.3 million people) as a whole.

I personally think it reinforces the white, middle-class stereotype that the party quite rightly is branded with often. The vast majority of members of Trade Unions are working-class and are often workers from blue-collar professions, labourers and emergency services. The Green Party should be the party that stands up for the marginalised and the oppressed: this includes all groups, and not just a select few.

If elected as Campaigns Co-ordinator, I would continue my record of campaigning hard against the Holistic Review, but if the inevitable happens, I will carry on advocating for the inclusion of posts that represent groups in the party: TULO is one of the biggest priorities to retain.

Please feel free to get in touch further to clarify any of my answers or to ask further questions.

I realise this reorganisation is part of the ongoing Green Party Holistic Review process, which I strongly oppose. When the Holistic Review was first proposed, I was Young Greens Co-Chair. I share exactly the same concerns as you about representation on the new bodies, because Young Greens and other bodies in the party also face the threat of having roles removed on the new structures.

At every point possible (whether this be on GPEx, at various Conferences or on my personal social media), I have condemned the acts of the Holistic Review, and voted against it.

On the Trade Union Liaison Officer (TULO) post, I absolutely agree with you. It is a serious mistake by the GPEW to ignore the concerns and voices of our members and supporters in Trade Unions, but also to the wider Trade Union membership (6.3 million people) as a whole.

I personally think it reinforces the white, middle-class stereotype that the party quite rightly is branded with often. The vast majority of members of Trade Unions are working-class and are often workers from blue-collar professions, labourers and emergency services. The Green Party should be the party that stands up for the marginalised and the oppressed: this includes all groups, and not just a select few.

If elected as Campaigns Co-ordinator, I would continue my record of campaigning hard against the Holistic Review, but if the inevitable happens, I will carry on advocating for the inclusion of posts that represent groups in the party: TULO is one of the biggest priorities to retain.

Please feel free to get in touch further to clarify any of my answers or to ask further questions.

 MICK GREGG

Perhaps i should, but i didn't actually know this was being proposed. Where is this information please?  I can see no reason why this role should not be continued. There's plenty of room at the table for many various groups to be represented

BOB BEGGS

The job I'm applying for in the Policy Development Committee deliberately requires a completely neutral view in respect of current and proposed policies. It also has no input to Constitutional changes except where they directly impact on the effectveness of the committee. Subsequently I don't think answering your question would be a useful indicator of my suitability for the role.

ADRIAN SPURRELL

I wasn’t aware that this was being considered. 

If it is being considered I think it would be important to understand the rationale behind that idea.

And then understand what impact not having the role would or wouldn’t have on our relationship with Trade Unions – if for example someone was going to pick up the work involved.

At the end of the day having a positive and constructive relationships with Trade Unions is indeed important.  We then need to understand how best that is achieved

MATT RC BROWNE AND FLORENCE POLLOCK

Florence and I are both trade unionists and support the retention of a Trade Union Liaison Officer into the new governance arrangements. As your question sets out, it is essential that the Green Party retains strong links with the trade union movement.

If elected to the Management Coordinator role we would work closely with the Green Party Trade Union Group. One of our policy proposals is to ensure that the Green Party staff trade union is given a seat in all GPEx, AFCOM and staff management meetings, to embed trade unionism in the Green Party's own practices.

BENJAMIN SMITH and ASHLEY ROUTH 

GPEW should not be removing the role of Trade Union Liaison Officer. Now more than ever in the post covid society, Trade Unions will be vital in our fight for a fair transition to a zero carbon economy. 

We think it is a mistake to do so yes. We're both supporters of Trade Unions and I (Ben) especially have done a lot of work with my respective Trade Union. We should be fighting for the rights of all workers to organise. 

No, as we said in our earlier answer we are supportive of Trade Unions. 

We will object to the removal of the position and explore how we can stop it happening. We will work with the GPTU on matters pertinent to it, championing the work of it;s members and encouraging more members to approach, work with, and join their Trade Unions. 

DAVID CARLYON

I support the retention of the Green Party Trade Union Liaison Officer post. I believe that the role will play a key part in promoting and enhancing the campaign to deliver a national Green New Deal. In order to secure the support of workers and professions throughout the country, it will be very important to strengthen bonds with trade unions in order to represent how our approach and policies can deliver safe, secure and skilled jobs. As an environmental political party, strong links with trade unions will be required when transitioning from environmentally-damaging industries, to new opportunities and jobs focusing on energy efficiency, retrofitting properties and renewable energy generation etc. I will support policy proposals to help achieve these goals.

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EWAN JONES

At a higher level, my concern is with the whole of the proposed new Constitutional structure that the Holistic Review / ’Transition Team’ have been attempting to force through Green Party Conference for the past three years.

Their proposal is to further centralise almost all power in a small unelected Board of appointees, who would line-manage Party Staff, while merging our current Executive and Green Party Regional Council (GPRC) into a neutered 45-Member Council that would effectively become a ’talking shop’, only able to operate through Staff-led ’Task and Finish’ groups.

This is no way to run the democratic and effective Green Party that Britain is crying out for amid the triple global ecological emergencies of Climate, Social Justice, and Democracy. I have been on record speaking against these dangers at various Conferences, especially Bristol in Autumn 2018.

The urgent need for a Just Transition, and ever-greater economic uncertainty, of course makes the Trade Union Liaison role ever more important. As GPEx Chair, I will fight to ensure that our Members retain democratic control of our Party, and that we build stronger rather than weaker relationships with Trade Unions and all working people.

ALICE HUBBARD AND SAM MURRAY

We are both proud trade unionists who believe that you cannot have climate justice without social justice. Trade unions are vital to ensuring a just and equitable transition,giving voices to workers during what will be monumental change. We both strongly believe the green party should keep the Trade Union Liaison Officer post as we need that connection to the trade unions. If anything, we feel it has been vastly underused in our wider plans for change. The TULO should be a resource through which unions are brought to the table to discuss the impacts of particular policies on working practices and provide evidence based approaches to ensure workers are not inhibited by change. The TULO should also be a vessel through which to promote positive policies we have that would change workers’ lives. We also believe that the TULO should have a seat on the GPEW Administration and Finance Committee (AfCom) to be able to actively contribute to recommendations on the financial and HR strategies of the GPEW and ensure that these are in line with the interests of members, employees and other stakeholders.

In terms of keeping the TULO post we are ready and willing to vote on any measure that would protect TULO. This would have to come through conference and we wouldn’t hesitate to support this motion and if required help draft it. The impact of losing TULO was not properly assessed through the holistic review so the next opportunity will most likely be amending the newly proposed constitution. We are in a similar situation in that neither the International Coordinator, nor the International Committee would exist after the holistic review. This will have a damaging impact as international green relations require consistent and regular engagement. There has been a proposal to replace the International Committee with a task and finish group but we do not feel this recognises the constant developing nature of international work and would hope the GPTU and others would support us in maintaining at least the International Committee. We are also concerned about the loss representation of the Young Greens Co-Chair following holistic review changes, which we believe is essential for any democratic political party. We are keen to work with the Young Greens and TULO to ensure that this representation is maintained at executive levels. 

Sam is a member of the TUC Young Workers forum representing the Musicians’ Union and has long campaigned within the MU to adopt UBI. He recently helped Amelia Womack in her campaign to call on UBI to benefit the arts sector. Amelia managed to bring the Musicians’ Union on board for the first time which shows a remarkable shift in union policy. Unions like the MU and Equity are probably better suited to the Greens than the Labour party these days but there are certain policies such as those on copyright which prohibit such alliances, with TULO we could reach out to these unions discuss these policy concerns and look to inform and review our own policies. 

From an international perspective many green parties across the world are developing stronger relationships with trade unions. At the last European Green Party council we worked on a resolution about gig workers and protecting freelancers, adding crucial amendments to protect parental rights, ensure freelancers have access to equalities protections and to empower gig workers to be unionised amongst other key protections. We know the green parties in Sweden and the Netherlands, for example, actively engage trade unions in their work and we should learn their lessons on how to do the same. 

We would be keen to develop a relationship with GPTU so that we can work on key policy developments regarding workers rights. It would be great if the group could review policy and suggest amendments where needed for resolutions on a European and Global Green level. We would be keen to connect GPEW with the various international solidarity campaigns that exist in the trade union movement, and develop our pre-existing support further for the Kurdish community. We would like to meet with GPTU if elected and discuss further how this could be done.

ERWIN SCHAEFER

I am fully in agreement that the Green Party needs to maintain strong links with the Trade Unions; we should be the party highlighting the potential for Green jobs, work in solidarity with progressive movements to resist austerity measures and make the Green Party a welcoming place for people who identify as working class.

It is absurd that we will have to spend unnecessary energy and create entirely avoidable friction to try and accommodate the many deserving groups, such as trade union links, Greens of Colour, disability groups, seniors, animal welfare, women's rights, international links, etc  in a new unsuitable format. A marginally quorate vote has created unintended consequences that will have to be debated in GPEx and will rumble through future conferences, wasting valuable time and efforts that could be much better used in actually achieving measurable goals confronting the climate crisis or pointing out the damaging policies that will be actioned by the current government.

I pledge to work towards the goal of achieving fair representation within the party's governance bodies for groups that are important to our members, very much including the trade union movement. If this means making amendments to the Holistic Review in light of the problems arising, then so be it.

LOUIS WILLIAMS

So back in Scunthorpe Conference I was one of those that proposed a whole raft of amendments to attempt to see the Holistic Review/Transition Team's proposals even workable with Standing Orders Committee. The amendments suggested being the documents they needed for the proposed constitution to even be accepted at Conference - all of these not accepted.

So I've seen how the reorganisation has been poorly handled, using now what I believe is an outdated mandate to push it through. Becoming a top-down approach in a bottom-up party. It is something that has been splitting GPEx at a time when we need GPEx working together to be a democratic and effective Green Party that England and Wales needs. We are at a real crisis point for the Climate Emergency, Social Justice and errosion of Democracy across the world.

With this comes the need for a Just Transition that leaves nobody behind. This means working with our Trade Unions, with our Trade Union Liaison and all working people across England and Wales. For this, we need to reevaluate if the mandate for the Holistic Review is still even active, or wanted for that matter.

MOLLY SCOTT CATO

As a lifelong union member I think it's vital that we improve relationships with trade unions and help them become stronger supporters of the transition to sustainability. I'm quite confused by the process around changing the constitution and deeply worried that some proposals seemed intended to undermine the democracy that needs to lie at the heart of our party. For me, it is also a clear objective that the main bodies running the party can make swift and effective decisions - and at present that isn't happening. I think it is vital that the interests of trade union members in our party, as well as those of our various liberation groups, are fully represented in the decision-making structures. True democracy demands nothing less.

MATTHEW HULL and PAUL VALENTINE

"As committed and experienced trade unionists, and members of the Green Party Trade Union group, we strongly agree that getting rid of the position of Trade Union Liaison Officer would be a calamitous error for the party.

Paul has been Trade Union Liaison Officer since 2018, and has done great work to build vibrant, lasting relationships with trade unionists. We've seen recently how powerful trade unions can be in defending and upholding workers' rights, when unions managed to force the government to implement and then expand its furlough scheme earlier this year to mitigate some of the most extreme poverty. This work is never over - and this brutal Tory government will never do enough for workers - but unions are a vital line of defence for working people.

All Greens should see unions, and the work of the Trade Union Liaison Officer, as absolutely central to our political strategy. Growing support for radical Green policies like Universal Basic Income among trade unions, including the Musicians' Union, the creative professionals' union Equity, and more is proof that unions are powerful allies of ecosocialists like us. Most of all, trade unionists can leverage our power to force a just transition away from fossil capitalism and without union muscle winning a just transition may be impossible.

If elected to the Green Party Executive, Paul & Matthew will fight tooth and nail to keep the post of Trade Union Liaison Officer. We will not support any reorganisation which eliminates it, and we will campaign to ensure it remains, by using our time in post to demonstrate exactly how powerful and positive it can be. In addition, we want to explore opportunities to ensure that the Green Party Trade Union group is represented on any Council or similar governing body of the party, reflecting how crucial grassroots worker organising is to achieving the Green Party's political objectives."

 SIAN BERRY and JONATHON BARTLEY

We agree that workers’ rights and the jobs, income and inequality crisis are a major issue that means a real focus from the Green Party is needed in our campaigning and the work our elected Greens do in councils, assemblies and in Parliament. This also means a strong voice is needed for the GPTU Group in all that we do. As co-leaders we are keen to work with you to make sure the party is at the forefront of campaigning on this during the current crisis and as we move towards a green recovery. 

Your specific question is a very timely one to ask in the light of upcoming debates about the new constitution, and we hope the GPTU will be making proposals for such an amendment to be debated if the suggested special conference is approved at Autumn conference. It is for members to decide what amendments to make to what was passed in the Holistic Review referendum, but we are open to hearing these arguments and will listen with an open mind, as we have done with the Young Greens who have a similar perspective on retaining a current dedicated post. 

The Holistic Review proposals were passed by conference and involve a significant change in our governance, with the proposed Political Executive shifting to a political governance rather than role-based function (which is now out of date since we are a larger party with staff taking on much of the work the volunteer executive did in earlier times). The proposals, based on this principle, currently do not include any role-based elected posts, with representation for affiliated groups reserved for places on the new Council instead. 

Our view on the question you raise is not fixed but currently leans towards the opinion that GPTU should be campaigning for strong commitments to represent workers’ rights and other trade union concerns from all members standing for election to the new Political Executive and also selecting candidates to stand for the executive non-portfolio places from among GPTU members who would benefit from campaigning on their behalf from members of the group. This would ensure a strong voice for you without replicating the current situation, where one role/person has effectively a taxing voluntary job that other members of the executive can legitimately leave to them, without embedding this work more closely into our wider plans and campaigns. However, we also think recent TU Liaison Officers on GPEx have made huge efforts and have been really effective, so would listen and be open to arguments for them to continue in a similar role if amendments are put to the special conference.