Why the Green Party must never affiliate to Labour or ally with it

Earlier this week, Left Foot Forward made a suggestion that the Green Party should consider affiliating with Labour: https://leftfootforward.org/2017/07/is-it-time-for-the-green-party-to-affiliate-to-labour/

This is something that, for the sake of our environment, humanity's future, and genuinely progressive causes, must never happen.

Labour have no real respect for our environment or for co-operative politics. They were happy to take advantage of the failed 'Progressive Alliance' for their own gain, even in seats where victory was already assured, but were unwilling to ally when they could not win or where a different party had a better chance of winning the seat from the Conservatives (especially in the case of the Isle of Wight). They were also unwilling to put key environmentalist policies, or even electoral reform, on their manifesto or in their broadcasts. They are also still focused on a pro-growth policy, which cannot be sustained in the long-term as the planet's resources are not infinite (and many are not renewable), and that technological development can only go so far. Sustainability is an important watchword we must take note of, as is stability.

The Greens are not a socialist/social-democratic party and were not designed as one. Green politics and values have always been distinct from Labour's, due to their focus on environmental wisdom, peace, grassroots democracy, and indicators other than economic productivity. Happiness and health are also important to humanity, and other political parties simply do not accept these as primary indicators of human performance. The Green Party was founded to build a new ecologically sustainable and fair society, not modify one that is a fundamentally part of a failed system (which is Labour's aim).

My three words in response to the question 'Is it time for the Green Party to affiliate to Labour? within the article are: no, nay, never.

Comments

  1. Liz Potter7 July 2017 at 07:42

    Nice one, Alan! I was dithering earlier in the week when I read that Left Foot Forward article but your points have convinced me - no, nay, never!

    ReplyDelete
  2. John7 July 2017 at 08:11

    How will we achieve happiness and health without social and economic reform in which Green issues are included ? I don't see any prospect of Greens being in a position to achieve this alone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rob Brookes13 August 2019 at 11:26

    It seems to me too many Labour members and MP's are more in favour of all of us in the UK being equally being able to fuck up our planet than truly concerned about the wellbeing of the poor. We may have only one MP but by standing as greens we are forcing Labour (and the others) to try to take our voters by adopting our policies.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown19 November 2019 at 15:45

    Still important. No, nay, never to any kind of formal coalition. However, supply and demand will be appropriate. I believe that Labour will never again be able to win a majority of seats in Parliament by themselves and against other smaller parties. They need to come to grips with that appropriately.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown19 November 2019 at 15:46

    What would be our price for supply and confidence?

    ReplyDelete

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