Crisis of Leadership - Responding to your comments
So firstly I'd like to thank everyone who read the last blog post, and replied and commented, that's very kind of you. The responses broadly come down into a few categories, and I'd like to respond to those points in turn.
“Drop the Co-Leader stuff”
Co-Leaders are an option, set out in the Constitution of the Green Party. The Leadership team is always 3 people, 1 Leader and 2 deputies, or 2 Co-Leaders and 1 deputy, always a triangle.
Other Green Parties, or indeed Left Parties, have co-leadership models baked into their constitution, so it’s always Co-Leaders, GPEW does not.
It is however, strong in the culture of GPEW to the point it might as well be. And I agree, I think a singular leader would be good, provide clarity of voice.
But the history of the co-leaderships of the Green Party is one of arranged marriages and marriages of convenience rather than ideological soulmates truly believing that sharing the leadership is what is best for their project.
There's nothing preventing a successful Co-Leadership from achieving what the NZ/Aotearoa Greens or Die Linke have achieved.
Next.
“But Alexander, who do you think should be Leader?”
No idea.
The first blogpost isn't to signal I do know. Or to signal that there is an obvious choice.
It's more likely that me writing will provide a catalyst for discussion in the Green Membership about what we want from our Leaders, whether we want Leadership or just a rebranded Super-Spokesperson team.
Names have been replied and I'm not going to assess them until they've declared their intention to run. What I would ask of you, dear Reader, is to look at what Greens are doing, what are their politics, how are they communicating them? Have they brought policy motions to conference? What are they talking about right now? Who are they talking to? How do they work with others? How well do they receive criticism? What are their priorities?
Other parties have this easier, their leadership candidates are usually more obvious and have longer political tenures to look at and examine, we can see their successes and failures. We have to look harder, and be smarter because many of our candidates simply aren't well known to the majority of the party.
Who knows, maybe the new Leader was the friends we made along the way.
“Does it even matter who the Leader is, when members make policy?”
Yes. Yes it does.
The Leader of the Green Party isn't a sockpuppet for conference. They have agency and their politics does matter.
Leaders can choose which policies to promote and how to promote them. I passed a £15 minimum wage motion in 2022, there was no guarantee there that it would be promoted by the Leadership or Comms team, they could have taken a different approach to economic policy, I'm grateful it did and it polled top in our policies among voters. (Humble brag I know.)
But the politics of the person arguing for a £15 minimum wage determines the arguments they'll make, how they'll make them, and dare I say it whether they believe in it, and that comes across on camera.
So yes, it does matter, no, don't get just anyone.
“Does the next Leader need to be an MP?”
Honest answer, I do not know.
I think it would be incredibly sad, and disappointing, if having elected 4 MPs, not one of them could find it within them to lead the Party.
I think it would be a waste of the effort to put them there and a waste of the momentum of the General Election. I think it would send a frankly bizarre message to activists and supporters. And to the wider public. Most people would go “what? Why bother electing more MPs?”
This has happened before, when in 2012 Caroline Lucas didn't restand for the Leadership to supposedly let others gain a profile, with Natalie Bennett taking over the Leadership. I was finishing my A-levels at the time, I cannot honestly remember the reaction in the media.
If that did happen, or if one of the current leaders were essentially demoted to Deputy. Do not expect a kind reaction, Labour will absolutely make a meal out of it, the media will say the Party is crazy or not serious.
At the moment, I do not think that the current Parliamentary Party is interested in Leadership. It would not surprise me if none of them sought to stand, even in Co-Leadership with someone who did. Nothing I've seen or heard, publicly or privately, has persuaded me otherwise.
There might be utility in having a parliamentary and extra parliamentary leader, like most German parties have. But I do think in the UK that will be an interesting sell. It's new, after all.
It is an option, but be careful.
In Conclusion
There's still a lot to be hopeful about. We can have a Leadership with Leads. We can have a Green Party that dominates the national conversation but it does require leadership, time and effort. It requires will, and it requires you.
You, Reader, need to engage with the Leadership election, pay attention to what the candidates say and do. Talk to your friends and fellow Greens, talk in your local party meetings, regional conferences, Action Days and whatever online forums you're in. And have fun, enjoy the sunny weather.