1300 people attended The Green Party of England and Wales Spring Conference last weekend. Held on the riverfront in Liverpool, it was the largest ever Green Party conference, after tens of thousands of new members had joined since the last conference in the Autumn. As a part of the ‘Green Surge’ myself, I was one of around 600 people who had been a member for less than a year. The energy at the conference was palpable. With fringe events aimed at the Black and Minority Ethnic members, to workshop discussions on health policy, and training on how to motivate local members, the event very much represented a party that is dynamic, responsive to its members and optimistic in outlook. Some of the great proposals announced included free social care for over-65s, free university tuition and Caroline Lucas championing the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
Meeting so many other candidates in the General and Local Elections was inspiring. These are ordinary people who have decided to take a stand for what they believe in and give people up and down the country an opportunity to vote for an anti-establishment alternative. Getting a chance to meet and talk to the Natalie Bennett, Amelia Womack, Shahrah Ali and other key Green Party activists was also inspiring. Hearing and seeing the passion with which they spoke gave me even more motivation to go and campaign hard to earn the support of people in St Helens South and Whiston. I must admit to being a little wonderstruck when meeting Caroline Lucas, and sharing the stage with Baroness Jenny Jones. It really was special to be able to given the opportunity to interview two 13 year old pupils from a nearby school, to speak to national press, and to contribute to important debates about policy.
Whilst the overall conference was positive, it did also remind me of how absurdly distorted our political system is, and how much harder we in the Green Party have to work to earn even more support from the public, and how we can turn that into electoral success. The real work starts now, and will continue far beyond 7th May if we are to really transform the relationship between the people, the place, and politics.
James Chan 