JONATHON BARTLEY & SIAN BERRY joint 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 policies have led to growth of our party and its influence in England and Wales amongst millions of people?
We do - the fact that we were the only party with a national voice standing firmly against austerity in the run up to the 2015 election played a major part in our surge in membership, a huge majority of which members are still with us. Our influence and vital voice on these issues continues. As councillors and candidates, both of us have stood against the war on vulnerable and low income people and won victories including, for example, fighting against estate demolition in Lambeth and getting the council to change its policy on evictions of those who fall into debt after cuts in council tax support, getting funding from councils to stop the closure of community centres, winning £45 million from the Mayor of London to mitigate youth service cuts and getting back the 100% council tax reduction in Camden.
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?
Salma Yaqoob herself is quite a unique figure to make an example of. She’s been a longtime ally of the Greens, standing up for plural politics and backing us in the West Midlands in the 2009 European elections, and also supporting Peter Cranie and the Stop Nick Griffin campaign that Sian was part of. In General Elections - including last year - we never support simply standing aside in marginal seats without there being a wider national purpose that will bring permanent change. Everywhere, Green voters deserve a Green to vote for, and building up support and showing we have votes behind our values is how we gain more power and influence.
3. What do you understand by the term “Ecosocialist”? 'Would you see yourself as being an ecosocialist? and what does that mean to you?
Sian says: I joined the Greens in 2001 precisely because we were the only party making the links between social justice and the need for a healthy planet, while all the other parties saw these as either/or. This link is at the core of ecosocialism, while I also admire the focus of most ecosocialists on local empowerment and action that builds resilience within communities as well as ‘traditional’ socialist principles like democratic public control of essential services and industries.
Jonathan says: I don’t see how the need to tackle climate change and the ravaging of the planet can be separated from the economic system that drives it and the rampant inequality that results. For me this is what being an ecosocialist is about and right now is the moment to be shouting loudly about it. People need more than a choice between Monetarism and Keynsianism. What Labour is offering is neither radical nor ecosocialist. What we offer should be clearly different and mean systemic change.
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
In the immediate future, Brexit is the biggest threat of these to our society and environment. We dread to think of the kind of country we’d be without the links to European values and principles of openness and free movement, or the kinds of anti-environmental policies we’d see from the right if they were running the UK out of the EU. Campaigning for a people’s vote is the best chance we have of avoiding this dismal future.
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?
We support moves to have a holistic review of party structures to make sure we can be fleet of foot in a rapidly changing political landscape while maintaining democratic structures and accountability in making decisions and policy announcements. Political Committee and GPRC work very hard when new issues arise to make sure our speakers and leaders have clear lines backed by the party, but some of these processes do need reform so they are more transparent as well as fast enough to be effective.
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?
We elect our leaders every two years and incumbents have to face a vote of members every time, regardless of whether they wish to stay on or not. We don’t always have enough people standing for national posts so anyone aiming for leadership should and could have been preparing for the upcoming election regardless of what they thought our current leaders’ plans were. The wider issue is how we can bring forward, train, and support more people between elections, so they have a platform, get opportunities to speak and build their skills and confidence, as well as their profile, to they can then take up leadership positions. We want to invest in programmes like the 30 under 30 programme and mentor and expand our range of spokespeople as a priority.
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.
We’ve always been campaigners as well as politicians and know that deciding on the way of communicating before knowing what your goal is, what you want to say to achieve it, and who you need to be speaking with to get there is not the right way to plan a winning campaign. So no we wouldn’t just say ‘have more street stalls’ without having a campaign goal that was best achieved by that. That’s not to say they aren’t often a great way to gather support, particularly in local campaigns. Sian and Camden Green Party were at a stall at a local festival last weekend collecting signatures for a campaign to get the council to drop glyphosate weedkiller, for example, because getting enough signatures for a debate is a crucial part of our campaign plan. Jonathan also joined street stalls during the Eu referendum campaign, For other things, like standing up for estates, we might have been better going door to door in affected areas. All of these kinds of local actions to support residents and campaigns help win elections outside of the main election periods - as target-to-win and the West Midlands success has shown. What people most want to see before they will vote us in is hard-working Greens standing up for the issues they care about (and which are being ignored by the other parties) in their local area over a much longer period than the election campaign itself.
8. What is your view of the Liberal Democrats politically?
We are far apart politically and the Lib Dems let the country down throughout the coalition, so it’s very hard to trust them on any promises they make. They are clearly committed to neoliberal economics and support austerity which means there are huge differences. As two opposition parties (in most councils) we can find common ground over certain campaigns though, and we’ve worked constructively with some Lib Dems on air pollution, tree protection, estate demolition and traffic locally, and we also share some ground on civil liberties issues. I know that the Greens in Richmond who campaigned with Lib Dems to overcome the problems with FPTP and get rid of a Tory council are now in opposition to a large majority of them, and that they will be holding their feet to the fire no less fiercely for having co-operated to get there. It will be interesting to see how the new council reacts to our principled and constructive opposition there.
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/?s=health+work+programme+unum)
We want spokespeople to be able to pool their knowledge and work together far more closely. One of the huge issues that they face, however, is time and resources - for example to submit Freedom of Information requests - and also to have research support. This is something that has been identified by GPEx as needing improvement and the Chief Executive and leadership team are in the process of trying to fundraise for it. This is something we would continue to support as co-leaders. In the meantime, carrying on the work of building links between our spokespeople and relevant campaign groups and research groups is vital.
10. How to respond to demonising of, say, benefit claimants and anti-Zionists?
We think Green values give us a strong grounding to resist the demonisation of any group and look at the facts and arguments with a principled viewpoint. Jonathan’s work has been instrumental in bringing home to Conservative ministers the results of their welfare policies and, while as a party we don’t have an anti-Zionist position, we have been clear that conflating all anti-Zionist views with anti-Semitism is not helpful and that making the distinction is important.
11. 'Do you believe every local party should be organising a public meeting promoting PR in the next few months'
We’re keen to push for a campaign for PR in local council elections, and with a recent set of unfair results to point to, and a crucial local election test coming up in most of the country next year, it is a good issue to discuss. We have great allies in the Make Votes Matter campaign and the ERS though, and these may be better groups to lead on organising a (Green supported) local public meeting. Green council candidates who have limited time perhaps need to be focused on working hard for their areas on less ‘political bubble’ issues as the elections get closer. We know that it’s year round hard work supporting marginalised people who feel the council isn’t listening to them that really wins us the council seats that will give us more influence over these issues in future. For new councillors, putting a motion for debate to support PR is a great idea though!
12. 'What lessons can the Green Party take from the campaign in Sheffield?'
There are some very exciting things happening in Sheffield including having our new Green Lord Mayor - Magid Magid - a Somalian refugee who is shaking up the establishment. But with regard to the campaign to save the street trees, Sheffield is one of a number of places where Green activists are working alongside other campaigners to put their bodies on the line, and this is something that we think will increasingly grow in importance. In recent months Jonathan has joined activists taking direct action at DESi in London’s docklands against the arms fair, supported the Stansted group who stopped a deportation flight, visited campaigners against HS2 and fracking around the country (including getting dragged away by police himself in Yorkshire). Sian is also no stranger to NVDA, However what is also clear is that there is a concerted effort to take out injunctions (as we saw in Sheffield) and criminalise those who are protesting - by councils, Secretaries of State and corporations. What we have learned in no uncertain terms from Sheffield is that this must be called out and resisted.
13. How can Green Party communications of their policies be made more relevant to the working class (White and Black Minority Ethnic)?
We think it’s real Green action on the issues that matter to these groups that will win trust, not just communicating our policies. It’s vital that we are strong allies to campaigners on issues that matter to working class and BAME voters, and we should be enthusiastically backing them when they ask for our help, and seeking out ways to help them if they aren’t asking us yet. Our record of action and campaigning shows we are serious about this. In London, Jonathan and Lambeth Greens went from one to five councillors due to their fierce campaigns supporting estate residents against demolition and fighting for public libraries that many residents depend upon. In the London Assembly, Sian has fought hard to defend injustices that particularly affect people of colour such as getting the Mayor to use name-blind recruitment to cut down on biases, and calling out the police on tactics such as stop and search, spit hoods, tasers and draconian automated facial recognition that disproportionately target Black people. We also need to be supporting BME candidates to get elected. Jonathan just launched in Lambeth (in Brixton at the Black Cultural Archives in Windrush Square) the Deyika Nzeribe Fund. This was named after our party’s Manchester Mayoral candidate who died tragically on New Year’s eve 2017. We welcomed at that launch the first Green Mayor of Sheffield – Magid Magid and the new Green Mayor of Bristol Cleo Lake a proud Bristolian of African-Caribbean heritage. The fund – overseen by Greens of Colour - will support, engage and develop Green candidates of global south heritage.
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?
If Brexit goes ahead with no deal the country will be in crisis, and we will have to focus immediately on defending against the ‘shock doctrine’ that will follow if hard Brexiters and right wingers are in Government. Greens will be needed to fight against a new wave of austerity, and the ripping up of business rules, human rights, civil liberties, workers’ rights and environmental legislation. It is likely that there would also be a fresh wave of xenophobia and nationalism. This is a situation that is hard to contemplate but we must be prepared for it. There also need to be a lot of work to heal the divisions, and unite in the face of a new assault on the poorest. The key to this will be working to transfer power to those who need it, and real democracy where everyone feels that they have a meaningful say and has real control over their future - whether campaigning for electoral reform, devolution of power, or participatory budgeting,
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...?
From when Sian first became a Green she has been inspired by many of the movements in south and central America that promote local empowerment and ecosocialism, and organise to prevent environmental destruction, particularly when they avoid crystallising around one charismatic leader, like the Zapatista movement in Mexico has managed. Jonathan has studied the liberation theology movements from the same parts of the world. Like most Greens we have both been impressed with the work Derek Wall has done to bring these movements to our attention and build solidarity between Greens here and these activists. Across the region, there are some quite dramatic examples of success in terms of reduced inequality, improved health and more sustainable communities from policies that make even slight changes to the reallocation of resources, land and local control of institutions, particularly when resources are put in the hands of women in society.
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