AMELIA WOMACK

AMELIA WOMACK responses to questions for all candidates in the current Green Party Leader and Deputy Leader elections submitted by Green Left members to help inform Green Left and Green Party members about your views on various issues relevant to the election

1. Do you agree our anti austerity and Ecosocialist polices have led to growth of our party and its influence in England and Wales amongst millions of people?

Absolutely, I’ve always believed that without economic justice, we will never have environmental or social justice as they are all so inextricably linked. Where we really stand out ahead of other parties is at the intersections of these justices.

My commitment to ecosocialism has seen me selected as co-chair of the People’s Assembly to ensure our Green voice is heard in the movement and work to achieving our anti-austerity policies.

2. Do you believe that in marginal seats where a candidate of another party is standing who shares many of our core values including PR, we should stand down, as we did with Salma Yaqoob at a recent general election?

All potential alliances or pacts must be considered on a case by case basis by the local party (or parties) involved. I do believe that there are situations where agreements can be constructive, but we must be careful not to isolate ourselves from voters and gain little in the process.

We gain so much more as a Party from people standing than just a chance at winning a seat. It improves the amount of time we get on tv debates, effects short money and our media coverage.

However, where an agreement has been made in the best interest of all Parties involved and with the aim of working towards PR, then we must respect the autonomy and ability of Local Parties and I will support them in any way appropriate.

3. What do you understand by the term “Ecosocialist”? 'Would you see yourself as being an ecosocialist? and what does that mean to you?

I am a proud ecosocialist, which has been evidenced by my work opposing austerity and championing green alternatives that have social justice at their core. We need to be championing eco-socialist policies not just in the UK, but on a global basis, working to dismantle capitalism and challenging globalisation from the perspective that it’s built on the backs of the working class around the works, destroying our planet, and the effects of all this feedback with climate change and ecological destruction destroying the poorest countries and communities first.

4 Which one of the following 4 campaigns will be your top priority?
PR
· Devolution and constitutional reforms
· A People's Vote on the terms of the final trade deal with the EU.
· De-growth

I have seen through my work with Greens in Ireland, Scotland and across Europe that Proportional Representation is our best chance of getting Greens elected and setting the agenda. There has been a poll in the last week in Scotland that shows the Scottish Greens rising to 11% in the Proportional list vote which would likely guarantee them a record 10 seats in the Scottish Parliament. We’ve seen the work Caroline has managed as our only MP in the Commons, and I know that with PR and more Greens elected we can secure a better world for people and planet for future generations. It’s clear that we live in a time of democratic deficit when in the 2015 General Election the Greens got 1.1 million votes and 1 MP while the SNP got 1.6 million and 56 MP’s. On top of that in 2017 the Greens got more votes than the DUP and have 1 MP while the regressive DUP hold the balance of power in government.
Having a non-proportional system feeds into many other issues such as people who live in safe seats not receiving the same investment from government as those who live in marginals, which reinforces inequality in some of our poorest communities. While I would tend towards PR from the above list of topics, as it is such a strong gateway to be better able to cover all of our policies where it really counts, in local and national government.

5 While national and specialist news media have deadlines and our party 'leadership' are still supposed to be 'speakers' rather than directors, how would you ensure that you make pronouncements that are a truly democratic way forward in times of democratic crisis such as parliamentary boundary changes reports?

This is an interesting question, and I believe that in my time as Deputy, I’ve made sure to consult as many stakeholders as I can possibly think of before speaking to local press, to ensure that I am putting across the best representation of local members’ views available to me.

In the case of national press, there is obviously a wealth of member created policy to discuss, but again, when it comes to issues which have arisen more urgently, I have always tried to speak to the members involved, and use our processes through GPRC and policy committee.

There are obviously a lot of highly knowledgeable Greens working on these issues at the grassroots, and using this knowledge to inform myself has always worked well for me.

6 How can succession of postholders for electoral office within GPEW be handled in such a way that there can be a 'level playing field' between candidates, rather than it being regarded that those who had most advanced notice of a vacancy having an unfair advantage?

I think it’s something that candidates could definitely get better at - having honest and open discussions about what it is that they want, and whether they intend to stand. I would hope that it would create a more welcoming environment so that nobody would be walking into an election without some prior knowledge.

I also think it’s the role of the leaders to support other potential candidates for future elections, and ensure we’re equipping them with the skills they need.

In this election I decided to formally announce a week into the nominations opening to ensure my announcement wouldn’t put people off running. Fundamentally it’s down to our members to decide who’s the best candidate and our members deserve a choice.

7 It is a mistake to put all our resources toward winning elections into the election period, if. we must first have a budget for campaign resources to boost our 'street cred’ and have more street stalls. Discuss.

I agree that we need to be boosting our profile consistently and not just when there’s an election. Campaign school has been an incredible asset that means we’ve been engaged in communities and listening to their needs. I think we need to build on this success with training on how we deliver local issue based campaigns (such as the M4 relief road) that means we can genuinely change something for our communities as well as amplify the message of our Green vision through our actions.

I believe that we can create change through our actions as our local parties and as GPEW, but those actions are solidified in policy once we are elected. These two aspects of our work must be intertwined.

I personally have worked on issue based campaigns to boost our message and profile, and know how well it plays in the media and in communities.

8. What is your view of the Liberal Democrats politically?

With the courage and conviction of our policies then I think that we have an opportunity to overtake the LibDems as the third largest party in England and Wales.
The LibDems let down a generation on issues such as tuition fees, and failed a nation by backing austerity. I want to hold our place as the party for young people as well as continuing to challenge austerity in all aspects of politics.

9 What is your view of Spokespersons pooling their knowledge for greater insight into this Government's hidden agendas? (Eg, Consider the implications of this search link for closer collaboration between Health Spokesperson and Work and Pensions Spokesperson with Leaders/Principal Spokespersons as hubs https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/…

As a whole then I think we need stronger spokesperson training with a policy officer to help unpick some of these overlapping issues.

On top of this, we need our spokespeople trained on devolved issues and the implications of that. For example, health is devolved in Wales, but the DWP isn’t. How do we use the evidence of these two different systems to highlight some of these intertwined issues.

10. 10 How to respond to demonising of, say, benefit claimants and anti-Zionists?

First and foremost we need media reform so that our press can not drum up hate towards and demonise marginalised groups. Our media has some of the most concentrated ownership in the world, which leaves too many of these issues unchallenged.
As deputy leader I have always worked with groups affected by this form of discrimination as those most affected should be prioritised to communicate with while trying to address it.

11 'Do you believe every local party should be organising a public meeting promoting PR in the next few months'

Sounds like an interesting idea! If you have any specific plans or ideas, get in touch and I’d be happy to see how I can help.
I have been campaigning with Make Votes Matter over the years, and this grassroots model is something they champion and may also be interested in supporting with.

12 'What lessons can the Green Party take from the campaign in Sheffield?'

a)The power of a clear issue to campaign around where we put our bodies where are beliefs are.

As stated in a previous question, I want to work to champion a fresh campaign school that trains our activists to campaign on local issues

b) the power of diversity.
Many of our Sheffield councillors are diverse and fundamentally reflect the communities they represent. As deputy leader I have previously worked to ringfence money for underrepresented groups to ensure that running in elections is accessible.

c). The power of canvassing. As always, we only win elections by knocking on doors, and the dedication of our members in Sheffield once again proves this.

13. How can Green Party communications of their policies be made more relevant to the working class (White and Black Minority Ethnic)?

Making sure we’re delivering our message into publications that are relevant to different groups. It’s no good simply getting our message in the guardian and on daily politics as we simply talk to our bubble.

In the past I’ve worked with the mirror and even stylist magazine to make sure our message reaches as broad a community as possible.

Also, it’s vitally important to be on the doorsteps with working class communities with a relevant message that will make a difference to the lives of people in their community. A large part of this is overcoming the rhetoric that migrants are what’s failing the NHS, housing, jobs etc and ensure we stop our government and other parties scapegoating from the issues caused by Westminster

14. In the event that Brexit does go ahead, including the possibility of an immediate no-deal departure in March 2019, what are your plans for the party's focus post-leaving and how would you propose to reach out to the 52% who voted to leave?

We can not allow the UK to be thrown into WTO rules, which would actively undermine all the rights previous generations of activists have fought and won. We can work to get article 50 extended by collaborating with our European Green leaders as well as MEP’s.

We must continue to campaign on the basis of what I set up “Greens for a Better Europe” on - that’s workers rights, human rights and environmental protection. It’s clear that many people will use Brexit to undermine those rights, and as Greens we simply won’t let them

15. What is your view of ecosocialist perspectives which are more dominant in developing countries e.g. Latin America which are streets ahead in terms of renewable energy. Wind farms are seen to be the solution to dire poverty and whole communities are stabilized, giving respite from the never-ending 'war on drugs', drug economies and gang violence...?

I think we have a lot to learn from policies from around the world, which for us can create a library of evidence to create our evidence based policies as well as bolster our communication. We need to champion global success to prove that eco-socialism works, and highlight the success of our policies in action. In my time as deputy leader I have already met with a range of international groups to understand the depths of some of these policies, as well as visited countries such as Greece with the Greece Solidarity Campaign to help campaign in the effects of austerity internationally.