From all of us at the Brighton and Hove Green Party, thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of you who helped re-elect our wonderful MP Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion (with her majority almost doubled!), and to everyone who campaigned for Phélim Mac Cafferty in Hove.
The Tories’ majority crumbled in the snap election, and the rising tide of right-wing politics was was held back. Voters sent a message to Theresa May that neither the politics of austerity, nor the prospect of extreme Brexit are wanted here. Young people came out to vote in unprecedented numbers, and political parties on the left began to work together to form electoral alliances.
But we must consider this as a turning point, not the end. Writing in The Guardian (13 June), Caroline Lucas and Labour MP Clive Lewis called for MPs who have benefited from electoral alliances to: “now work together in parliament on a cross-party basis so we can build a progressive relationship with Europe, make the case for electoral reform, tackle the environmental crisis and establish the basis for a post-austerity and post-neo-liberal economy.”
As Greens, our voice has never been more important. Our climate is in crisis, but none of the other parties are talking about it. We will continue to put climate change and the environment at the top of the political agenda. And we will continue to be a distinctive, loud and positive voice for free movement, for a four-day working week, and for a truly proportional replacement of our broken electoral system.
The politics of this country has been utterly transformed in the past two years. The desire to do politics differently is present as never before, and as Greens we must continue to lead that change. What happens next is down to all of us.