The (GPEW) is the principal
Green political party in
England and
Wales . The party is unrepresented in the
House Of Commons but members have been elected to the
European Parliament , the
London Assembly and in
Local Government .
It is affiliated with the
Global Greens and the
European Green Party .
The emerged as a distinct party in the
1990s .
The Green Party formed in
1973 as the "People", with the first edition of the ''
Manifesto For A Sustainable Society '' as its statement of philosophy and policies. After the left wing was broken away and because of misunderstandings the party called itself
Ecology Party in
1975 . The party formally became the Green Party in
1985 after a younger generation (Green Alliance, 1978) joined the party. In the 1990s, the Scottish and Northern Ireland wings of the
Green Party in the
United Kingdom decided to separate amicably from the party in
England And Wales , to form the
Scottish Green Party and the
Green Party In Northern Ireland . The
Wales Green Party became an autonomous regional party, and remained within the Green Party of England and Wales.
The all-UK party enjoyed a brief spell of success in the late 1980s. At the
1989 European Elections the Green Party won 2 million votes, and received 15% of the overall vote. European elections in Great Britain were then run on a
First-past-the-post basis, whilst the three seats in Northern Ireland were elected by
Single Transferable Vote , and the party failed to gain any seats. Mainstream political parties were alarmed however by the Green Party's election performance and adopted some "Green policies" in an attempt to counter the threat.
However due to internal divisions over the direction of the party in the early
1990s , the Green Party fell out of the limelight and failed to maintain its electoral momentum. Due to this the party has not been able to repeat the successes it achieved in the 1980s, nor has it been able to match the success of Green parties in some other parts of
Western Europe . Britain's
First-past-the-post Electoral System has often been blamed for this.
The party was founded to counter what they see as the threats to the environment and that remains its main focus.
It supports the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol but does not see that as anything more than a first step. It is strongly behind
Contraction And Convergence as a method of reducing carbon emmissions. Within Britain it supports
Tradable Carbon Quotas . A proportion of the quotas would be distributed on per head basis. The remainder would sold to firms and organizations. The quotas would be reduced on a year by year basis.
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It is usually to be found on the civil liberties side of the liberties versus security debate and opposes the national ID cards and New Labour's anti-terror legislation. It is strongly opposed to measures like the
Legislative And Regulatory Reform Bill .
The Green Party opposed the Iraq War, both prior to, during, and after the invasion and on principle rather than opposing the war only because there was no second UN resolution (unlike the Liberal Democrats).
The party is moderately Eurosceptic and supports UK membership of the EU (subject to democratic reform) but opposes the euro on economic localisation and democracy grounds and the proposed EU constitution.
The Green Party has consciously chosen not to have a "leader" for ideological reasons; its organisation provides for two
Principal Speakers , a man and a woman. The current Principal Speakers are
Caroline Lucas and
Keith Taylor . Taylor, a
Councillor in
Brighton & Hove , was elected in
2004 after the death of
Mike Woodin .
The national Green Party Executive (GPEx) is comprised of the following positions: Chair, Policy, Campaigns, Elections, External Communications, Local Party Support, Management, International, Publications and Finance.
For the purposes of its registration with the was elected to be the party's nominee in the event of the party again being asked, but this was too late for the current round.
According to 2004 accounts filed with the
Electoral Commission it had a membership of 6,281 at year-end, and had an income and expenditure of about half a million pounds (of which £86,794 was on staff).
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The Green Party has not succeeded, as of , despite a reduction in number of seats available. However they have not yet managed to breakthrough into the Welsh Assembly.
Also elected by proportional representation is the
London Assembly ; it has two Green Party members, out of 25. These are
Darren Johnson and
Jenny Jones . The Green Party of England and Wales has one member of the (unelected)
House Of Lords , the Upper Chamber of Parliament,
Lord Beaumont Of Whitley .
