There are few speakers in modern politics who are able to engage with the issues that matter in a genuine and inspiring fashion. The world of media coverage necessitates fifteen-second soundbites, leaving many orators struggling to convey policies and ideas in an authentic manner. It’s not just that; there is a very real feeling that most inhabitants of the modern political world don’t believe even half of what they are saying. They have to be careful, of course: a misjudged phrase, or commitment to mistaken policy, could easily come back to haunt them.
Fortunate, then, that the Greens have clear policies that equate firmly to their stated principles. It is, perhaps, even more fortunate that the party elected Caroline Lucas to be the lead person responsible for communicating them. Those accustomed to her appearances on Question Time, or various radio debates, will be quite familiar with the way her political ‘opponents’ all too easily fall in line with her statements, being lost for an effective counter-argument, or, usually and quite simply, because she’s just plain right.
To witness Caroline’s speech after accepting the role of leadership was nothing short of electric. True, she had a room full of supporters; but there was a big difference between the reaction from the floor during this speech and what was witnessed from the audience after Brown and Cameron’s ditties on the direction of the country. The main difference was belief - belief in the delivery, and a room full of people who believed in what was being said, who were not just toeing the party line for fear of political anonymity. When Caroline communicated disbelief about the various policies of the New Labour project, from tuition fees to arms exports, child poverty to the war in Iraq, you believed her. When she talked about David Cameron’s all-too-eagerly employed greenwash, you knew exactly what she was on about. Here was politics as it should be: commitments to producing a fairer society, a peaceful society, a society in which the qualities of both genders were given equal standing (where councillors would not be thrown out of chambers for breast feeding as once happened to her), a society which would not have a detrimental impact on the earth and its non-human inhabitants. All conveyed with passion, compassion and authenticity in equal measure.
Many UK politicians try to avoid the BNP issue. Not here. Sending a stark warning to the cult of Griffin, she warned that “Every time they wrap themselves in the Union Jack, we will be there to remind people that bigotry, violence and racism have no place in this country.” Likewise, it’s a rare thing to hear a politician advocate radical approaches, like direct action, to ensure that the country does not continue to pursue coal and nuclear power. Highlighting the political policing at the climate camp, she told conference: “Greens will do everything in our power to uphold the right to peaceful protest - and yes, if necessary, risk arrest - to prevent our headlong descent into climate chaos, and to secure the right of future generations to a world that’s fit to live in.”
But perhaps most important to a party that has always been deeply committed to grassroots organisation and campaigning, Caroline made sure that her concerns about centralisation are clear - that the precedent set by other parties with their male leadership has resulted in “politics as a fashion show”, a level that the Greens would never descend to. So perhaps the most important factor in the speech was the one with which she opened: in the Green Party, all are leaders. Leading the way in making personal decisions and taking actions to become positive citizens of the world by pursuing environmental and social justice and staying true to the principles of the Green Party for now and for the future.
You can see the full speech by Caroline Lucas at www.greenparty.org.uk
