whither ‘greens organise’ ?

‘Greens Organise’ launch at the Manchester Mechanics Institute 8/9/2024.

Deeply disappointed by the Labour Left under Jeremy Corbyn, the collapse of  Momentum and the demise of The World Transformed , a series of ongoing conversations about the possibility of ‘a new party of the  left’ have been taking place over the past couple of years amongst anti-capitalist groups.

Such groups vary greatly in membership and types of organisation. They range from the Communist Party of Great Britain, the Revolutionary Communist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, The Scottish Workers Party and lesser known organisations such as Counterfire or the Alliance for Workers Liberty.  It is estimated that 15 different organisations are involved in those conversations.

Acutely aware of the duplication of efforts and waste of resources due to such  fragmentation, what these organisations appear to agree with is for the need to work towards some kind of coordination and unity.

Over the last few months, there has been a series of events organised by a network of anti-capitalist activists across the country under the title “Party Time” to discuss  the possibility of a new party. Such event took place as an unofficial fringe meeting held at the Friends of Meeting House during the Manchester Autumn Conference.

Another conversation running in parallel to that of a new party is the issue of elections. Whilst the prospects of such new party running candidates of its own or forming an electoral alliance is part of the discussion, so is the idea of engaging in entryism into existing parties, like the Greens.

Members who took part in the Green Party’s Conference in Manchester last September may recall being handed an Open letter from ‘Greens Organise’ members which set out their goal: “to create a popular movement for voters who have lost faith in the political system” and “ for the Green Party to become the principal electoral voice of that movement”. 

In his contribution to the journal Prometheus,  chair of the Green Party’s Trade Union  Group Robert Magowan re-instates the purpose of ‘Greens Organise’ and its entryist strategy when asking the question: why the Green Party?

“The basics here are regularly repeated – 6 parliamentarians, over 800 Councillors, 60,000 members and 2 million votes this year – the Greens are the only party on the left that has broken through the British electoral system. The party polls strongest among those who are most keen on change and least satisfied with democracy, and has already gained significantly from Labour’s core vulnerability to renters, young people and Asian voters. Its central offers of a wealth tax, investment in public services and environmental protection speak to popular concerns that cut across demography and geography. Notwithstanding the party’s considerable weaknesses, it is the site of a very large well of national recognition, goodwill and hope “

And adds “  It is internally democratic, and not – in my experience – completely horrible to campaign for, which is a boon. “

( As the vast majority of active members know only too well, our Party has indeed many weaknesses, not least a deeply dysfunctional Executive Committee and Regional Council caused by a huge democratic deficit. As revealed in many of The Green Light posts, it is precisely this weakness which has enabled 300 activists from the ‘leftist’ identinarian faction to capture the party’s narrative and determined its ‘social justice’ agenda for almost a decade. And It is precisley the lack of internal democracy which has facilitated their taking control of all the Party’s instruments of governance, from the Disciplinary Committee to the Standing Orders Committee and Conference itself. Unsurprisingly, founding member of ‘Greens Organise’ Robert Magowan does not see the Party’s democratic deficit as its deepest and most fundamental weakness.)

Whilst acknowledging that the Green Party in it is present form is essentially pre-occupied with getting members elected, Maganon further proposes:

”Leftists can use the national and regional network offered by ‘Greens Organise’ to shape the party from within – an influx of political experience and organising capacity into volunteer roles would supercharge the party’s functioning across the board”.

Welcoming ‘leftists’ new members, Maganon sees their role in joining  ‘Greens Organise’ to help ” paving the way for more alignment with the wider (largely disorganised) left “.

As a long serving member of eco-socialist Green Left  – unfairly dismissed by Maganon “as offering little more than a holding pen in recent years “ – commented recently at a London based Local Party meeting : “ ‘Greens Organise ‘ is the trans faction now morphing into an ageist mini Militant Tendency !”