The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; Welsh: Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr; Cornish: Parti Gwer Pow Sows ha Kembra; often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have served as the party's co-leaders. The party currently has four representatives in the House of Commons and two in the House of Lords, in addition to over 800 councillors at the local government level and three members of the London Assembly.
Alongside the Scottish Greens and the Green Party Northern Ireland, the party was established in 1990 through the division of the pre-existing Green Party, which had initially been established as the PEOPLE Party in 1973. The party went through centralising reforms spearheaded by the Green 2000 group in early 1990, and also sought to emphasise growth in local governance, doing so throughout 1990. In 2010, the party gained its first member of Parliament in its then-leader Caroline Lucas (although Plaid Cymru's Cynog Dafis was elected on a joint ticket in the 1990s). As the party's support is spread out across the UK, and is rarely found in electorally significant clusters, the party held only one seat in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019, before reaching four seats in 2024. The Green Party supports replacing the UK's first-past-the-post voting system with proportional representation, which would grant all parties a share of seats in Parliament based on their national vote share.
The Green Party of England and Wales has its origins in the PEOPLE Party, which was founded in Coventry in November 1972.[10] It was renamed to the Ecology Party in 1975;[11] in 1985, the party changed its name to the Green Party.[12] In 1989, the party's Scottish branch evolved to establish the independent Scottish Green Party, with an independent Green Party in Northern Ireland evolving shortly after, leaving the branches in England and Wales to form their own party.[13] The Green Party of England and Wales is registered with the Electoral Commission, only as "the Green Party".[14] In the 1989 European Parliament elections, the Green Party polled 15% of the vote with 2.3 million votes, the best performance of a "green" party in a nationwide election.[15] This election gave the Green Party the third-largest share of the vote after the Conservative and Labour parties; because of the first-past-the-post voting system, however, it failed to gain a seat.[16] Many say the success of the party is due to increased respect for environmentalism and the effects of the development boom in southern England in the late 1980s.[17]
Early years (1990–2008)
Seeking to capitalise on the Greens' success in the European Parliament elections, a group named Green 2000 was established in July 1990, arguing for an internal reorganisation of the party in order to develop it into an active electoral force capable of securing seats in the House of Commons.[18] Its proposed reforms included a more centralised structure, the replacement of the existing party council with a smaller party executive, and the establishment of delegate voting at party conferences.[19] Many party members opposed the reforms, believing that they would undermine the party's internal democracy and, amid the arguments, some members left the party.[20] Although Green 2000 proposals were defeated at the party's 1990 conference, they were overwhelmingly carried at their 1991 conference, resulting in an internal restructuring of the party.[21] Between the end of 1990 and mid-1992, the party lost over half its members, with those polled indicating that frustration over a lack of clear and effective party leadership was a significant reason in their decision.[22] The party fielded more candidates than it had ever done before in the 1992 general election but performed poorly.[23] In 1993, the party adopted its "Basis for Renewal" program in an attempt to bring together conflicting factions and thus saved the party from bankruptcy and potential demise.[24] The party sought to escape its reputation as an environmentalist single-issue party by placing greater emphasis on social policies.[25]
Recognising their poor performance in the 1992 national elections, the party decided to focus on gaining support in local elections, targeting wards where there was a pre-existing support base of Green activists.[24] In 1993, future party leader and MP Caroline Lucas gained a seat in Oxfordshire County Council,[26] with other gains following in the 1995 and 1996 local elections.[24]
The Greens sought to build alliances with other parties in the hope of gaining representation at the parliamentary level.[27] In Wales, the Greens endorsed Plaid Cymru candidate Cynog Dafis in the 1992 general election, having worked with him on several environmental initiatives.[27] and he was duly elected on a joint ticket.[28][29] For the 1997 general election, the Ceredigion branch of the Greens endorsed Dafis as a joint Plaid Cymru/Green candidate, but this generated controversy with the party, with critics believing it improper to build an alliance with a party that did not share all of the Greens' views. In April 1995, the Green National Executive ruled that the party should withdraw from this alliance due to ideological differences.[27]
As the Labour Party shifted to the political centre under the leadership of Tony Blair and his New Labour project, the Greens sought to gain the support of the party's disaffected leftists.[30]
At the 2001 general election, they polled 0.7% of the vote and gained no seats.[33] At the 2004 European Parliamentary elections, the party returned two MEPs the same as in 1999; overall, the party polled 1,033,093 votes.[34] In the 2005 general election, the party gained over 1% of the vote for the first time and polled over 10% in the constituencies of Brighton Pavilion and Lewisham Deptford.[35] This growth was due in part to the increasing public visibility of the party as well as growth in support for smaller parties in the UK.[35]
Caroline Lucas (2008–2012)
Lucas speaking as the first Leader of the Green Party at its autumn conference in 2008.Green Party protestors marching against government cuts in 2011.
In November 2007, the party held an internal referendum to decide on whether it should replace its use of two "principal speakers", one male and the other female, with the more conventional roles of "leader" and "deputy leader"; the motion passed with 73% of the vote.[36] In September 2008, the party then elected its first leader, Caroline Lucas,[36] with Adrian Ramsay elected deputy leader.[37] In the party's first election with Lucas as leader, it retained both its MEPs in the 2009 European elections.[38]
In May 2012, Lucas announced that she would not seek re-election to the post of party leader.[43] In September, Australian-born former journalist Natalie Bennett was elected party leader and Will Duckworth deputy leader in the leadership election took place. Bennett would take the party further to the left, aiming to make it an anti-austerity party to the left of the Labour Party.[44][45][46]
In September 2014, the Green Party held its 2014 leadership elections. Incumbent leader Bennett ran uncontested and retained her status as a party leader. The election also saw a change in the elective format for the position of deputy leader. The party opted to elect two, gender-balanced deputy leaders, instead of one. Amelia Womack and Shahrar Ali won the two positions, succeeding former deputy leader Duckworth.[55][unreliable source]
In the 2010 general election, the Green Party contested roughly 50% of seats. The party announced in October 2014 that Green candidates would be standing for parliament in at least 75% of constituencies in the 2015 general election.[56] Following its rapid increase in membership and support, the Green Party also announced it was targeting twelve key seats for the 2015 general election: its one current seat, Brighton Pavilion, held by Lucas since 2010, Norwich South, a Liberal Democrat seat where June 2014 polling put the Greens in second place behind Labour,[57]Bristol West, another Liberal Democrat seat, where they targeted the student vote, St. Ives, where they received an average of 18% of the vote in county elections, Sheffield Central, Liverpool Riverside, Oxford East, Solihull, Reading East, and three more seats with high student populations – York Central, Cambridge, and Holborn and St. Pancras, where leader Bennett stood as the candidate.[58]
In December 2014, the Green Party announced that it had more than doubled its overall membership from 1 January that year to 30,809.[59] This reflected the increase seen in opinion polls in 2014, with Green Party voting intentions trebling from 2–3% at the start of the year, to 7–8% at the end of the year, on many occasions, coming in fourth place with YouGov's national polls, ahead of the Liberal Democrats, and gaining over 25% of the vote with 18 to 24-year-olds.[60][61] This rapid increase in support for the party is referred to by media as the "Green Surge".[62][63][64] The hashtag "#GreenSurge" has also been popular on social media (such as Twitter) from Green Party members and supporters[65] and, as of 15 January 2015[update], the combined Green Party membership in the UK stood at 44,713; greater than the number of members of UKIP (at 41,943), and the Liberal Democrats (at 44,576).[66]
Natalie Bennett in 2015
Views subsequently fell back as the 2015 general election opinion polls arrived:[67] a Press Association poll of polls on 3 April, for example, put the Greens fifth with 5.4%.[68] However, membership statistics continued to surge, with the party attaining 60,000 in England and Wales that April.
At the 2015 general election, Lucas was re-elected in Brighton Pavilion with an increased majority, but the party did not win any other seats. In part due to the greatly increased the number of contested seats of 538 from the 310 at the 2010 election, the Greens received their highest-ever vote share (over 1.1million votes), and increased their national share of the vote from 1% to 3.8%.[69] Overnight, the membership numbers increased to over 63,000.[70] However, at the local government elections the party lost 9 out of their 20 seats on the Brighton and Hove council, losing minority control.[71] Nationwide, the Greens increased their share of councillors, gaining an additional 10 council seats while failing to gain overall control of any individual council.[72]
Lucas and Bartley (2016–2018)
Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley in 2017
On 15 May 2016, Bennett announced she would not be standing for re-election in the party's biennial leadership election due to take place in the summer.[73] Former leader Lucas and Jonathan Bartley announced two weeks later that they intended to stand for leadership as a job share arrangement.[74] Nominations closed at the end of June, with the campaign period taking place in July and voting period in August and the results announced at the party's Autumn Conference in Birmingham from 2–4 September. It was announced on 4 September that Lucas and Bartley would become the party's leaders in a job share.[75]
Lucas first suggested "progressive pacts" to work on a number of issues including combating climate change and for electoral reform, following the results of the 2015 general election.[76] She then reiterated the call alongside Bartley as they announced their plan to share the leadership of the party.[74] Following the vote to leave the European Union in June 2016, Bennett published an open letter, calling for an "anti-Brexit alliance" potentially comprising Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru to stand in a future snap election in English and Welsh seats.[77] The Green Party stood in 457 seats in the 2017 general election, securing 1.6% of the overall vote, and an average of 2.2% in seats it stood in.[78] While it was a disappointing result after the 2015 success, this was still the second-best Green result in a general election, and Brighton Pavilion remained Green with an increased majority.
On 30 May 2018, Lucas announced she would not seek re-election in the 2018 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election and would stand down as co-leader.[79] On 1 June 2018, Bartley announced a co-leadership bid alongside Siân Berry, former candidate for the Mayor of London in 2008 and 2016.[80]
Bartley and Berry (2018–2021)
Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley in 2018
Bartley and Berry were elected as co-leaders in September 2018, winning 6,279 of 8,329 votes.[81] In the 2019 local elections, the Green Party secured their best ever local election result, more than doubling their number of council seats from 178 to 372 councillors.[82] This success was followed by a similarly successful European election where Greens won (including Scottish Greens and the Green Party in Northern Ireland) over two million votes for the first time since 1989, securing 7 MEPs, up from 3. This included winning seats for the first time in the East of England, North West England, West Midlands and Yorkshire & the Humber.[83]
The membership also saw another climb in 2019, returning to 50,000 members in September.[84]
In September 2020, it was announced that Bartley and Berry had won re-election for another two-year term.[85]
In the 2021 local elections, the Green Party gained their first ever councillors in Northumberland and Stockport, as well as making significant gains in Suffolk and Sheffield.[86] In total 88 seats were gained,[87] challenging the Liberal Democrats to become England's third-largest party.[88]
In July 2021, Bartley announced that he would stand down at the end of the month to give the party time to choose new leadership before the next general election. This triggered the 2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election.[89] Berry remained as acting leader, but said she would not stand in the leadership election following disagreements within the party.[90]
The Bristol councillor, Carla Denyer and the former deputy leader, Adrian Ramsay were elected as co-leaders on 1 October 2021.[91] Ramsay stated that "People are looking for a positive alternative to the establishment parties, and finding it in the Greens"; in the first national electoral test of the new leadership in the 2022 local elections the Green Party made a net gain of 71 seats – including in both Conservative and Labour "safe seats".[92]
On 7 September 2022, it was announced that Zack Polanski had been elected as the party's new deputy leader, defeating three election opponents and replacing Amelia Womack, who chose not to re-stand for the position in the election.[93]
In October 2022, at their national conference the Scottish Greens voted to sever ties with the Green Party of England and Wales, specially over the issue of transphobia.[94] In response the Green Party of England and Wales said that trans rights are human rights, that it has strong policies of trans inclusion and that a goal of the party is to be welcoming, inclusive and promote diversity. The party also said it would continue to support the rights of trans people, women and oppressed groups.[95] The LGBTIQA+ Greens also responded by saying it would "continue to fight transphobia".[96]
"Welfare not Warfare" sign, indicating the Green Party's policy towards social justice and non-violence
Sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party took "the left-libertarian" vote,[113] while Dennison and Goodwin characterised it as reflecting "libertarian-universalistic values".[114] The party wants an end to big government, which it sees as hindering open and transparent democracy, instead devolving and decentralising power to a more local level. They also want to limit the power of big business, which, they argue, upholds the unsustainable trend of globalisation, and is detrimental to local trade and economies.[115]
The Green Party publishes a party platform: a full set of its policies, as approved by successive party conferences, collectively entitled Policies for a Sustainable Society (originally The Manifesto for a Sustainable Society before February 2010).[116]
Manifesto
The party publishes a manifesto for each of its election campaigns.[116] Separate from this, the Greens have a set of Core Values,[117] a Philosophical Basis[118] and a series of Long-term Goals.[119]
For the 2015 general election, the party's manifesto outlined many new policies, including a Robin Hood tax on banks and a 60% tax on those earning over £150,000.[120]
For the 2019 general election, the party's manifesto had four key sections: "remain and transform", which advocated for the UK to reverse its decision to leave the EU and increase cross-border co-operation with the EU; "grow democracy", which aimed to overhaul the UK's current voting system and rebalance government power by lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 and redefining the jurisdiction of local governments; the "green quality of life guarantee", which addressed social issues such as housing, the NHS, education, countryside conservation, discrimination, crime, drug reform, animal rights, and the implementation of a universal basic income; and the "new deal for tax and spend", which outlined the party's economic policies such as simplifying income tax, increasing corporation tax to make big businesses pay their fair share, supporting small businesses, and ending wasteful spending.[121]
For the 2024 general election, the party's manifesto followed the slogan "Real hope. Real change." Their manifesto focused on providing a "secure future", solving the climate crisis, and providing social equality, particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals where they believe previous governments have failed.
Economic policy
The Green Party believes in "an economy that works for all". This includes steps to eliminate poverty with social policies such as increasing the minimum wage in line with the living wage. In October 2021, the party stated its support for a £15 an hour minimum wage.[122][123] The party supports moving towards a four-day work week; which it is claimed would boost productivity and growth, with Mondays and Fridays being the least productive days in the week.[124][125][126][127]
In November 2019, the Greens pledged to introduce a universal basic income by 2025, which will give every adult in the United Kingdom (unemployed or not) at least £89 a week (with additional payments to those facing barriers to work, including disabled people and single parents).[128] This is in order to tackle poverty, give people financial security, give people more freedom of choice to cut their working hours, start a green new business, take part in the community, or improve their own well-being.[128] The policy also aims to tackle the rising levels of automation that threaten to put millions out of work and fundamentally change British industry.[129]
The Green Party wants to raise corporation tax from the current 19%; this is designed to generate more government revenue and ensure large corporations do not become too powerful. The party wants to end subsidies for fossil fuels and replace them with subsidies for renewable energy sources such as wind, solar power and tidal power. Investment in green energy could potentially create more jobs and boost the economy. The environmental economic policy also includes a Green deal that the Green Party say will generate new jobs and reduce Britain's energy costs. The Green Party wants to increase Britain's development and its position on the Human Development Index and free time index. They believe that uncontrolled economic growth has contributed to pollution and global warming and that more steps should be taken to ensure that growth is sustainable and keeps environmental damage to a minimum.[130]
The party also supports the implementation of a nationwide retrofit insulation programme (for both homeowners and renters). This would be in order to reduce energy consumption, provide warm homes and lower people's energy bills.[131]
The party supports bringing energy and water companies, public transport including buses and railways, as well as Royal Mail into public ownership.[132] They have also called for social care to be free at the point of use.[133]
Environmental policy
The party states that it would end industry tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel-based power generation, and would work toward closing coal-fired power stations as soon as possible. The Green Party would also remove subsidies for nuclear power within ten years and work towards phasing out nuclear energy. Instead it would invest in renewable energy sources, including wind power, solar power and hydropower, as well as new and emerging renewable technologies, such as tidal power and wave power.[134] This would coincide with an aim to cut energy use through methods such as home insulation.[131] The party aims for the UK to become carbon neutral. The Green Party Manifesto for the UK 2019 general election stated:
The UK should base its future emissions budgets on the principles of science and equity and the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 C. These principles entail the UK reducing its own emissions to net-zero by 2030 and seeking to reduce the emissions embedded in its imports to zero as soon as possible. The urgency of these objectives requires the UK to make overcoming the technological, political and social obstacles a national priority.[135]
The Green Party wants to set up an environmental protection committee to ensure the protection of habitats and to enhance biodiversity.
Foreign policy and defence
Green Party poster calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan
The Green Party used to have an outlook in which it stated: "In the long term, it would take the UK out of NATO".[139] In 2014, Natalie Bennett led an anti-NATO march in Newport.[140][non-primary source needed] In 2022, the party formerly supported withdrawal from NATO, but not before the end of the Russo-Ukrainian War.[141] In March 2023, the party abandoned its opposition to NATO.[142] However, the party said it supports reform of the organisation in aspects such as guaranteeing a "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons, that NATO commits to upholding human rights, and that the organisation only acts in defence of member states.[143]
The party campaigns for the rights of indigenous people around the world and argues for greater autonomy for these individuals. Furthermore, they support the granting of compensation and justice for historical wrongs, and that the re-appropriation of lands and resources should be granted to certain nations and peoples. The party also believes that the cancelling of international debt should take place immediately and any financial assistance should be in the form of grants and not loans, limiting debt service payments to 10% of export earnings per year.[115]
The Green Party advocate for a less "bully boy culture" from the Western world and more self-sustainability in terms of food and energy policy on a global level, with aid, only being given to countries as a last resort in order to prevent them from being indebted to their donors.[115]
Amid the toughening rhetoric surrounding immigration at the 2015 general election, the Greens issued mugs emblazoned with the slogan "Standing Up For Immigrants".[146] They claimed to offer a "genuine alternative" to the views of the mainstream parties by promoting the removal of restrictions on the number of foreign students, abolishing rules on family migration, and promoting further rights for asylum seekers.[114]
Drug policy
The Green Party has an official drugs group, for drugs policy and research.[147] The party wants to end the prohibition of drugs and create a system of legal regulation in order to minimise the harm associated with drug use as well as the harm associated with its production and supply.[148][149] The party's view is that people have always used drugs and there will always be people that will use them, and therefore focus should be on minimising the harm associated with drug use and tackling the causes of why people take drugs (e.g. poverty, isolation, mental illness, physical illness, and psychological trauma).[148] This sits alongside the party's belief that adults should be free to make informed decisions about their own drug consumption, while this freedom is also balanced with the government's responsibility to protect individuals and society from harm.[148] The party considers the drugs issue to be a health issue, rather than a criminal one.[150]
The party also supports opening overdose prevention centres in towns and cities in order to prevent fatal overdoses, the transmission of HIV, hepatitis C and other illnesses, as well as offering a place for drug users to access health and treatment services.[148] The party supports devolving the decision-making on whether to open these sites to police, health services and local authorities.[148]
Ian Barnett from the Green Party says that: "The Policy of 'War on Drugs' has clearly failed. We need a different approach to the control and misuse of drugs." However, the party does aim to minimise drug use due to the negative effects on the individual and society at large.[151]
The LGBTIQA+ Greens are a Special Interest Group of the party, colloquially known as a Liberation Group. As of January2023,[update] the co-chair of the group is Cade Hatton.[153]
The 2015 and 2017 general election manifestos contained policies on all teachers to be trained on LGBTIQA+ issues (such as "providing mandatory HIV, sex, and relationships education – age appropriate and LGBTIQA+-inclusive – in all schools from primary level onwards"), on reforming the system of pensions, on ending the "spousal veto" (a provision of the Gender Recognition Act that requires applications for a Gender Recognition Certificate to include written consent from an applicant's spouse)[154] and on "mak[ing] equal marriage truly equal" by amending pension inheritance rights.[155][156] Bennett has also voiced support for polygamy and polyamorous relationships.[157]
Some issues of trans rights have caused divisions in the Green Party, such as when Siân Berry cited opposition to her support for trans rights as a reason for stepping down as co-leader.[160][161][162] In the subsequent leadership election, candidate Shahrar Ali's comments on trans rights led to the Young Greens to call for his expulsion.[163] After being sacked as Speaker for the party, Shahrar Ali successfully sued the Green Party for unfair dismissal, claiming discrimination for his "gender critical views" under the Equality Act 2010.[164] In February 2024, the Mayor's and City County Court ruled that the Greens had not followed proper procedure and awarded him £9,100, but upheld that political parties may dismiss spokespersons for views not inline with their party's values and dismissed claims of discrimination against Dr Ali.[165][166][167]
At the 2021 Conference, the Green Party voted in favour of gender self-identification and voted down a motion that women were discriminated against "solely upon their biological sex", which opponents claimed excluded trans women.[168]
The Scottish Greens suspended their cooperation with the Green Party of England and Wales in October 2022 due to "transphobic rhetoric and conduct" and "lethargic, ineffective, and inconsistent" disciplinary action against "an unelected legislator [who had] insulted [the Scottish Greens] and sought to damage [the Scottish party's] reputation regarding LGBT+ rights, women's rights, and child protection issues".[169] In response, the English and Welsh party replied that "the Green Party of England and Wales is clear that trans rights are human rights and we are proud of our strong policies on trans inclusion".[169]
Transport
The Green Party has called for "A People's Transport System"[170] to help deal with the issues not just to the planet but to local communities as well. The Green Party has an official transport working group, aimed at helping to draw up policies to be voted on at the conference.
The party also aims to prioritise accessibility to transport and create equal access irrespective of age, wealth or disability. The party also wants to reduce the total distance people travel and travel journey lengths by encouraging the development and retention of local facilities. It also seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of transport, partly through encouraging transport that makes use of sustainable and replaceable resources. The party would also implement a green transport hierarchy of transport that would need to be followed by all levels of government:[171]
Public transport (trains, light rail/trams, buses and ferries) and rail and water-borne freight.
Light goods vehicles, taxis and low powered motorcycles.
Private motorised transport (cars & high powered motorcycles).
Heavy goods vehicles.
Aeroplanes.
One of the flagship and long-standing policies in this field is returning the railways to public ownership[170] along with renationalising other forms of transport.
The party opposed High Speed 2 (HS2) at first, in favour of alternative transport strategies.[172] The party was, however, in favour of high speed rail in principle, as a means of challenging short haul domestic flights, provided projects meet strict criteria. The party advocated to divert money invested in HS2 towards other infrastructure projects, such as upgrading and improving local public transport.[173][174][175][176]
In September 2024, members of the party voted to reverse its stance on HS2 to being in favour of building the full project.[177]
"Under a green government all currently outstanding debts - yet to be paid - held by an individual, for undergraduate tuition fees and maintenance loans, and any resulting interest would be written off. Specifically, those issued by the Student Loans Company (SLC) and currently held by the UK government".[179]
Governance
Global governance
The party campaigns for greater accountability in global governance, with the United Nations made up of elected representatives and more regional representation, as opposed to the current nation-based setup. They want democratic control of the global economy with the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank reformed, democratised or even replaced. The party also wishes to prioritise social and environmental sustainability as a global policy.[115]
The Green Party states that they believe there is "no place in government for the hereditary principle".[181] In their long-term goals, they advocate that "The monarchy shall cease to be an office of government. The legislative, executive and judicial roles of the monarch shall cease."[182]
In February 2021, the Green Party announced that it supported a referendum on Welsh independence and would campaign in favour of independence if a referendum were to be held,[185] following a 2020 conference vote.[186] For the 2024 election, the Welsh branch backed Welsh independence in their manifesto.[187] The party's general policy is to support the self-determination of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, should they wish to secede from the United Kingdom.[188]
Unlike the UK's other prominent political parties, the Green Party regularly fields candidates against the Speaker of the House of Commons in general elections and they typically receive the largest vote share after the Speaker.[189]
'Yes to the EU' does not mean we are content with the union continuing to operate as it has in the past. There is a huge democratic deficit in its functioning, a serious bias towards the interests of neoliberalism and 'the market', and central institutions have been overbuilt. But to achieve those reforms we need to work with fellow EU members, not try to dictate high handedly to them, as David Cameron has done.[193]
Organisation and structure
The party has two governing bodies — the Green Party Executive (GPEx), and the Green Party Regional Council. Day to day management of party affairs, as well as party finances and employment of staff are handled by the GPEx.[194][195][196] The GPRC is the main policy body between Green Party Conferences, as well as handling broader political strategy, and responsibility as the ultimate disciplinary body of the party.[194][197]
Member groups
There are a number of member groups affiliated to the Green Party.
The youth wing of the Green Party, the Young Greens of England and Wales, has developed independently from around 2002; it is for all Green Party members aged up to 30 years old or in full or part-time education. There is no lower age limit. The Young Greens have their own constitution, national committee, campaigns and meetings, and have become an active presence at Green Party Conferences and election campaigns. There are now many Young Greens groups on UK university, college and higher-education institution campuses. Many Green Party councillors are Young Greens, as are some members of GPEx and other internal party organs.[198]
The Green Party relies more on membership income than other parties. In 2014, membership income made up 23% of Green Party income (compared to just 2% of Conservative Party and 9% of Liberal Democrat incomes).[200] As Prof Catherine Rowett explains: "Money pays for leaflets, campaigns, staff time. Big parties have huge donors who want a reward in the form of corrupt access to government. We run a clean campaign with money from our members. Little bits of money, whatever you can afford".[201]
Membership increased rapidly in 2014, more than doubling in that year.[202] On 15 January 2015, the Green Party claimed that the combined membership of the UK Green Parties (Green Party of England and Wales, Scottish Greens, and Green Party Northern Ireland) had risen to 43,829 members, surpassing UKIP's membership of 41,966, and making it the third-largest UK-wide political party in the UK in terms of membership.[203][204] On 14 January 2015, The Guardian had reported that membership of the combined UK Green Parties was closing on those of UKIP and the Liberal Democrats, but noted that it lagged behind that of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which at the time had a membership of 92,187 members but is not a UK-wide party.[205] Membership of the party peaked at over 67,000 members in the summer of 2015 after the general election, but later declined subsequent to Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour Party.[206]
For the year ending 31 December 2019, Green Party income had increased to £3,454,562 and expenditure to £3,177,323.[207]
Membership (at end of year unless otherwise stated)
"Green voters have tended to be younger and better educated than the electorate at large, and they are known to be more likely than most voters to work in the public sector. In terms of values, Green voters have been found to be more often than not on the left of the political spectrum, and they have been more likely than the average voter to hold post-materialist values, including support for environmental protection."
According to political scientist Sarah Birch, the Green Party draws support from "a wide spectrum of the population".[226] In 1995, sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party "appeals disproportionately to younger, highly educated professional people", although he noted that this support base was "not predominantly urban".[227] In 2009, Birch noted that the Green's strongest areas of support were Labour-held seats in university towns or urban areas with relatively large student populations.[228] She noted that there were also strong correlations between areas of high Green support and high percentages of people who define themselves as having no religion.[229]
Birch noted that sociological polling revealed a "strong relationship" between individuals having voted for the Liberal Democrats in the past and holding favourable views of the Green Party, noting that the two groups were competing for "similar sorts of voters".[230]
Spokespeople
The party has a number of Spokespeople, appointed by the party's ruling Green Party Executive Committee.[231]
Former deputy leader of the party from 2008 to 2012 and Norwich City Councillor for the party from 2003 to 2011. MP for Waveney Valley since July 2024.
Councillor in Herefordshire from 2017 to 2024 and former MEP (West Midlands) for the party from 2019 to 2020. MP for North Herefordshire since July 2024.
Since the first UK election to the European Parliament with proportional representation, in June 1999, the Green Party of England and Wales has had representation in the European Parliament. From 1999 to 2010, the two MEPs were Jean Lambert (London) and Lucas (South East England). In 2010, on election to the House of Commons, Lucas resigned her seat and was succeeded by Keith Taylor. In May 2014, Taylor and Lambert held their seats, and were joined by Molly Scott Cato who was elected in the South West region, increasing the number of Green Party Members of the European Parliament to three for the first time.[243] In May 2019, this number rose to seven: Scott Ainslie (London), Ellie Chowns (West Midlands), Gina Dowding (North West England), Magid Magid (Yorkshire and the Humber), Alexandra Phillips (South East England), Catherine Rowett (East of England), and the re-elected Scott Cato.[244]
A map showing the representation of the Green Party of England and Wales at the district level of government following the 2019 local elections, excluding unitary authorities (grey).
A map showing the representation of the Green Party of England and Wales at the county/unitary authority level of government after the 2019 local elections.
Since 2017, the party has steadily increased its number of councillors at every election, which after the 2024 local elections had reached an all-time high of 812 on 174 different councils.[249]
↑ November 1972 (as PEOPLE); 1975 (as Ecology Party); June 1985 (as Green Party); July 1990 (as Green Party of England and Wales)
1 2 This post was known as Principal Speaker(s) until 2008.[37]
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References
1 2 "Green Party website". greenparty.org.uk. 16 July 2024. By joining the Green Party today, you are becoming part of a Green community of over 59,000 members working together to create a fairer, greener future.
↑ "Green vote doubles in two seats". BBC News. BBC Election 2005. 6 May 2005. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2018. In the 2001 general election the Green Party took 0.7% of the vote with no seats gained.
↑ "Election Live – 3 April – BBC News (10:29 – Poll of Polls)". BBC News. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015. Ukip are in third place on 13.3%, the Liberal Democrats are fourth on 7.8% and the Greens are fifth on 5.4%. However, it is too soon to judge whether the leaders' debate has had any impact upon levels of support, PA says.
↑ "Bennett leads 'second green surge'". The Westmorland Gazette. Press Association. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015. We've had a good start in the last 24 hours – we've had about 1,000 more people join the Green Party so our membership has gone over 63,000, which means we are much bigger than Ukip and the Liberal Democrats.
1 2 3 4 5 "Drug Policy". Green Party of England and Wales (official website). October 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
↑ "Transport". Green Party of England and Wales (official website). June 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
1 2 3 "Education". Green Party of England and Wales (official website). January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
↑ "Membership of political parties in Great Britain"(PDF). UK Parliament House of Commons Library. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022. Most recent data from the Electoral Commission suggests the Green Party of England and Wales had a membership of 54,306 at the end of December 2021
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59,000+ [1] 
