As the final round of Green Party Conference voting begins, I’d thought I’d share some thoughts about my experience at Conference so far – and some changes I would propose to the way Conference works if elected Chair.
I’ve also just conducted a fantastic fringe session on the theme of ‘people’ and how the Green Party can become the party supported by the majority of people, rather than just a small minority of people. There were some excellent contributions from those who attended, and it’s filled me with hope that the future of the party lies in the membership. I’ll put the video of it up as soon as I can.
I am proud to count among my supporters North Devon Councillor Ricky Knight, who has been a member of the Green Party for 25 years and narrowly missed being elected an MEP for the South West region earlier this year. Here’s what he had to say about the GPEx elections that are almost at a close, and my campaign:
“I have waded through all the e-mail exchanges on the heinous wranglings over GPEx elections, SOC interference, the disenfranchisement of 95%+ of the membership due to the ERO’s decision, constitutional references, petulance, toys being flung everywhere, resignations, media references, allegations of e-mail list mismanagement – you name it – a hugely democratic outpouring. Suits me – ‘cos all I want is communication – ‘cos through that, eventually, usually, hopefully, emerges some clarity.
“I have come to one strong conclusion and that is, in terms of a fresh head, a new face, a beam of pure communicative coherence and competence, Rayyan Mirza has won my vote: no-one could have tried harder from a standing start, despite all the ‘wise old heads’ alluding to his Catch 22 ‘lack of experience’, to enthuse the readers of his e-mails, his website, and his Rapid Response to any and every topic and question to him, as to his ability, readiness and desire to take on the leading GPEx position, one that so many shy away from. I urge others to vote for Rayyan too and give him all the support he needs if/when he is elected Chair.”
Last Wednesday I debated my opponent for Green Party Chair, Jayne Forbes, in London. The debate was filmed so as many members as possible could see us both debate each other before deciding who to vote for. The close of the postal ballot is tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd September) at 12pm, so you’ll have to post your ballot paper with a first class stamp today for it to arrive before the deadline; otherwise you can bring your postal ballot paper with you to the Green Party’s Autumn Conference, where you will be able to vote with it on Saturday.
If you’ve read my Plan for Change and would like to see the Green Party become more successful, please vote for me with your postal ballot paper today and send it off with a first class stamp, so that it arrives before the close of the postal ballot this Wednesday (2nd September) at 12pm.
But if you haven’t yet made up your mind about who to vote for, please come to the Green Party Autumn Conference in Hove from this Thursday onwards, where I will be available to speak to you in person to answer any more questions you might have. There will also be hustings this Friday at 4pm, and you can vote in person on Saturday from 2.20-3.20pm and 5-7.30pm. You must bring your postal ballot paper with you as there will be none available on the day.
In the meantime, please use the tabs above to read more about why I believe I am the best candidate for Green Party Chair. Please also watch the above video, which I filmed after meeting members in Birmingham to discuss my campaign.
This will be the first and last opportunity to see both candidates for Green Party Chair debate in person before the close of the postal ballot on Wednesday 2nd September. Both candidates will give opening speeches, then the audience will ask them questions, and then the candidates will ask questions of each other. Here are the details:
Date and time: Wednesday 26th August, 7-9pm
Venue: 1B Waterlow Road (next door to Green Party Office), London N19 5NJ
Nearest underground station: Archway
Please bring as many Green Party members and supporters along as you can. Let’s make this debate, the first of its kind for Green Party internal elections, a real event! See you tomorrow.
UPDATE: Video footage of the debate will soon be available online. I’ll post again when I can link to it.
Newly elected Suffolk County Councillor Mark Ereira, South West LGBTIQ Coordinator Ryan Cleminson, and Calderdale local party member Charles Gate are all voting for me. Read what they’ve said about my campaign on my Supporters page, take a look at my Plan for Change, and add your name to the growing list of members who want the Green Party to raise its game!
Your postal ballot papers arrived last week, and with the suspension of the election for External Communications Coordinator, the election for Green Party Chair will be the only one all members decide upon. So please, make your vote count. Thank you.
Adam is the former president of the Edinburgh University Students Association, where he ran on a very practical platform of cutting the cost of student life (see his video here). That’s exactly what I hope to encourage the Green Party to do: talk in very concrete terms about how our policies will improve people’s lives. I’ve previously received support from Sian Berry, whose excellent 2008 campaign for Mayor of London had a similar focus on cutting the cost of London life (see her video here).
I am proud to have the support of both of them and those others on my Supporters page, as well as the people who have contacted me to say they’ve voted for me. Please read my Plan for Change and see if you like my ideas for taking the Green Party forward: if you do, download the plan and send it to your local or regional party, and vote for me with your postal ballot paper.
Some people have questioned whether I have enough experience to Green Party Chair because at 24, I would be one of the youngest ever Chairs. Leaving aside the fact that I think it would be good to have a young Chair, because young people always bring fresh perspectives to the table and are often exploited or ignored by politics, I have already amassed a wealth of experience inside and outside the Green Party. Not only do I have the experience to be Chair, I have the kind of experience and a Plan for Change the party needs right now. Just having lots of experience by itself doesn’t make a difference: the current national executive have a great deal of experience between them but were still unable to win extra MEPs for the party. Experience is nothing without vision, and my Plan for Change hopes to provide just that.
This series of videos featuring George Marshall, of the Climate Outreach Information Network, do a great job of outlining some areas where climate change campaigners need to improve upon. I hope they provoke some discussion amongst members, as one of the issues facing the Green Party is a lack of discussion over how we actually win more support for the causes we believe in. As Chair I would encourage all members to reflect upon their experiences of campaigning on climate change to get a better of idea of what works and what doesn’t. Let’s start the debate now! Your thoughts are welcome.
Do you believe we can inspire a new generation into political activism?
Do you believe we can make Britain a more just, equal and sustainable society?
I believe, as you do, that the Green Party can achieve these objectives mainly by being successful at the ballot box. This internal election is the perfect time to debate how we succeed in the coming year and beyond.
It will be hard winning MPs next year given the inevitable Tory-Labour squeeze: it’s been made even harder by failing to win extra MEPs this year despite very favourable circumstances, namely proportional representation and the expenses scandal which engulfed the three big parties. We also failed to stop the BNP getting elected.
We have a choice in this internal election: asking what mistakes were made so we can change and do better next year; or pretending our Euro result was acceptable and ploughing on to inevitable disappointment. In short, change versus more of the same.
I’ve written a comprehensive “Plan for Change” setting out exactly how we can regain lost momentum and win MPs. You can read it here, comment on it, download it and circulate it among your local or regional party members for discussion.
But for this to be a real debate, I want to hear from you – the members. I’ve already arranged to meet local and regional parties across the country, and very soon hope to meet you too.
My name is Rayyan Mirza and I’m standing for Green Party Chair, because I believe we can be the party the public needs us to be.
The Green Party has launched its key policy for next year’s European election, the Green New Deal.
It is a good example of how a coordinated approach to policymaking can improve a number of policy areas at once – in this case, climate change, energy security, economic stability, employment, and public transport.
However, it is a policy; not a narrative.
A political party can have many policies but if it wants to convince enough people to vote for it, it needs to communicate a clear and simple narrative to people about why they should vote for it instead of other parties. Barack Obama did not win simply because of his policies; his campaign recognised a hunger for change and its narrative was to depict him as that change, a theme to which his policies were tied.
The election of a Leader and Deputy Leader at this year’s Green Party autumn conference was an important step forward. It signals our willingness to engage with the electorate on their own terms, whilst at the same time sacrificing none of the groundbreaking policies we have developed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This, however, is only just the beginning.
According to the New Economics Foundation, we have less than one hundred months to act on climate change before the situation reaches “a point of no return”. Political action is necessary: without tough laws, states and corporations will not stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere out of good will. Both Friends of the Earth and the Campaign Against Climate Change are pushing for a new Climate Bill that would require the UK to reduce its emissions by 80% by 2050.
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has proven to be one of the major political events of our time and a deeply involving experience for me, remarkably so given that I am following it entirely on the internet and am unable to vote to decide its outcome.
Prior to the media coverage Obama received in the run up to the Iowa Caucuses at the end of 2007, I had not read a great deal about him other than that he was young and was inspiring young people in particular to mobilise support and raise funds for him. To find out for myself why people were so excited about him, I watched his speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Iowa on YouTube.
The party of artists formally known as the Liberal Democrats have just launched their new pre-manifesto statement entitled Make It Happen. It is a daring new move in the realm of political communications, as freshfaced leader Nick Clegg presents his party’s vision and values with a “thrilling” allegorical tale about a young woman from a small town who dreams of one day becoming a famous dancer. With the deft touch you’d expect from the writer of Step Up and Save The Last Dance, the film clearly illustrates the aspirations of the Lib Dems to become the biggest party in British politics, but also depicts a struggle with twists and turns that run parallel to their own rocky road to power.
As a campaigner for Lewisham Green Party, I and a number of others have gone doorknocking in the constituency of Lewisham Deptford, where the Greens have six councillors and aim to elect Councillor and London AM Darren Johnson to Parliament at the general election. Over the past month or so, I have become familiar with the numerous issues facing local residents, many of whom are already aware of the good work done by Darren and the other Green councillors, such as Sue Luxton in Ladywell, in standing up for the community and defending local services.
It has been both a rewarding and an eye-opening experience. Most residents really appreciate someone listening to their opinions and discussing how the local area can be improved, and it is really satisfying to connect with people over shared concerns and inform them that Green councillors are working hard to address those concerns.
I am proud to count among my supporters North Devon Councillor Ricky Knight, who has been a member of the Green Party for 25 years and narrowly missed being elected an MEP for the South West region earlier this year. Here’s what he had to say about the GPEx elections that are almost at a close, and my campaign:
