Adrian Ramsay launches Green Deputy-Leadership bid
Adrian Ramsay launched his campaign for Deputy-Leadership of the Green Party today. His message seems simple - he’s a hugely competent activist and campaigner, at the heart of the Green movement.
The campaign website very much sets the tone. It’s slick and to the point; why Adrian’s standing, the reasons to vote for him, and how to help are set out plainly and within easy reach. To summarise each campaign plank in turn, Adrian puts his core values thus:
action as part of a movement social justice and affordability action on climate change anti-privatisation fair trade fair treatment of animals and wildlife
So, that’s an outwardly focused, leftish, green approach with a hint of internationalism. Any Green that could fault those as broad principles has perhaps joined the wrong party. He’s not solely focused on Westminster - the desire to have, “more contact,” with, “campaign groups and trade unions,” rather puts paid to that suggestion - and he wants to use that contact to move towards truly Green ends.
Not that Adrian would damage electoral success - far from it. As leader of the first Green Opposition on Norwich Council, he could easily lay claim to teaching the Party how to win council seats. And he does so for this campaign:
Adrian has been a councillor since he was 21, and is now Leader of the largest group of Green Party Councillors in the country.
Adrian was Election Campaign Manager when Norwich Green Party gained its first council seats in 2002. Since then, Adrian has played a key role in increasing Green representation on Norwich City Council from two to thirteen Councillors, as well as adding two Green County Councillors to represent the city at County level.
In the 2008 elections, the Green Party became the second party in Norwich (just two seats behind Labour). Adrian is the first Green Party Councillor to become the Leader of the Opposition on a local authority.
Rather impressive, I feel. Ramsay managed to make the Norwich Greens the most electorally successful local party in the country - and without compromising any level of radicalism. He’s worked with trade unions against privatisation, helped make Norwich a Fair Trade city, and moved to save local services. All of which sounds pleasantly close to his stated values.
This ability - to deliver electoral and practical success without compromising his principles - forms a key plank of his platform. There’s much on his experience, and how it’d provide a great boost in his target constituency of Norwich South. This, for example:
Our message is an urgent one. We need to be effective and organised as a party to get Greens elected to all levels of Government so we can champion and implement Green solutions to the world’s problems. Too often local parties are left to reinvent the wheel as they work to get Greens elected to their local council. Efforts are being made to spread best practice but we need to do more to help local parties and to communicate how our current success stories have come about and how Green Councillors have made a real impact at grassroots level. As a party we also need to be focused on securing the breakthrough into Westminster so ensure we are taken seriously as a national party. Winning in our three target General Election constituencies is the best way to build the party’s profile and credibility across the country. As Deputy Leader, I can bring experience of winning elections to the national party - and holding the position of Deputy Leader would add credibility to our campaign in the Norwich South target constituency and help bring that crucial breakthrough into Westminster a step closer.
So - he wants to build effective parties, at a local and national level. Sounds just about right for a Deputy-Leader. Perhaps more interesting, though, is his vision for the party:
There were understandably strong views on both sides of the leadership referendum debate. I believe that, as Green Party members, far more unites us than divides us. We need to have leadership at a national level that is inclusive, accountable and effective. At a local level I work hard to involve councillors and party members in the running of Norwich Green Party. As Deputy Leader I would see myself as playing a key role as part of a group, working alongside all members of the party Executive to make the party more effective and successful.
We also need to put in place the values and proposals that the two sides of the referendum debate shared. For example, I would support the introduction of a Green Shadow Cabinet, as proposed by Green Empowerment, so that we can have the benefit of a range of specialist speakers, accountable to the party, and so we are not reliant on two leadership figures for all the media coverage and speaking opportunities!
Adrian clearly looks to be pitching himself as a unity candidate between the two factions that emerged last year over leadership. A wise move, I feel, both for the election and if he wins; a Deputy Leader hoping to build the party into an effective force needs to hold appeal for all concerned. If that makes him a middle-of-the-road candidate - then it may well work.
Adrian Ramsay has constructed a virtually watertight campaign. Reaching out to the whole party, and grounding his appeal in an undeniable experience and talent, he presents an effective vision; the party’s radical politics, delivered by a credible and capable organisation. Anyone who does run against him will need to present a hugely attractive challenge - and probably from the outfield (Step forth, Comrade Wall?). Because otherwise, he seems to be just what the Green Party needs.
Posted in: Democracy, Good Policy, Greens, Issues Environmental
If you keep saying such nice things you’ll earn yourself a promotion!
A fair assessment, though.
The Greens, “reject the hierarchical structure of leaders and followers, and, instead advocate participatory politics,” Comrade…;)
And, glad you think so.
The Green Party really does need someone like Adrian - and when it comes to the main Leadership election, Caroline is precisely the right person to lead the Party. She has been the perfect candidate in many ways for years - I for one am not going to waste time quibbling about whether either Adrian or Caroline are opposed or not, seeing as I don’t want anyone else to win. Both are broad and uniting figures, and only the most bitter malcontents of the Party have anything against Caroline, who is our most brilliant and accomplished figure.
“She has been the perfect candidate in many ways for years - I for one am not going to waste time quibbling about whether either Adrian or Caroline are opposed or not, seeing as I don’t want anyone else to win.”
I don’t see Adrian and Caroline as at all opposed - they strike me as a pair who’d work very effectively together. Presumably, they don’t think they’re opposed either, given that one’s running for Leader and the other Deputy. If nothing else, that, “Promoted by Adrian Ramsay, 12 Suffolk Square, Norwich, NR2 2AA on behalf of Caroline Lucas” is written at the bottom of Caroline’s leadership website perhaps indicates that they might well look forward to working together.
I hope so, at least.
When I said “opposed”, I meant I was not bothered about whether either of them had any opponents in their respective elections - while I do not favour coronations, the Green Party has been around for 30 years and only has 100 councillors, 2 MEPs, and 2 London AMs. Whether or not Caroline runs unopposed in the election is no barometer of democracy, at least not when compared to the true barometer - i.e. how many people want us to represent them in Parliament. I said it in response to this comment by Matt Sellwood:
“I hope that Caroline is opposed, not because I don’t think she’d be excellent, but because I think there should be a debate”
The real debate is the one we should be having with the public about why we have the best policies, not yet another navel-gazing exercise. Both Caroline and Adrian are uniting figures within the Party and also two of our most effective elected politicians. Anyone who thinks Caroline or anyone with her views doesn’t belong at the helm, is probably speaking from the bitter, twisted e-mail list of Green Left, and I’d sooner “have a debate” with them than I would insert the MfSS up my cakehole.
Ah, my misunderstanding, sorry. I wouldn’t be completely distraught if Caroline and Adrian went unopposed - but I do think, if there was an opponent, we might use the debate to engage with the public a little. A contest might just make it into the media a little, and show the public we’re getting serious by electing a Leader at last, which would be of benefit. But I entirely agree that we really do need to start getting out there and engaging with the public, rather than conducting yet more navel-gazing.
Well for my part - both of these party members are very capable and would do well in the roles they are running for, but these elections are an opportunity to discuss the direction and political perspectives of the party and as such if they are not contested we’re missing a vital opportunity.
It wouldn’t be a disaster it would just be a shame.
As it happens the leader post is definately going to be contested although as yet I don’t know if deputy position will be. If we think of these elections as just about personalities then yes, it doesn’t really matter if they’re contested - if its about politics and internal democracy then we need debate.
I agree with Jim that we need a contest, but we also need a debate. Leadership elections should be about debating where we go as a party, as Jim and Doug say, and personally I am extremely glad to see posts like this get that debate going. Caroline’s full slate idea needs a real debate, i feel, as a big and bold idea.
I agree that we need to start discussing the way forward for the Party. I can think of none better placed than Caroline to encourage a healthy and constructive debate not only for our electoral and political strategy, but some long overdue internal reform. I suppose Ashley Gunstock will provide some contest, and perhaps Derek Wall might also decide it wasn’t enough to attempt to block the membership from choosing the leadership reform and will in fact stand for either leadership position.
We need to reduce the stifling and obscure bureaucracy of GPRC, and build up more of a national infrastructure. Local party democracy is important, but it doesn’t really matter if those parties cannot convince a few hundred people in their areas to elect Green councillors.
Our target-to-win strategy also needs overhauling. At present, we follow the method of slowly building up, over 3 or 4 general elections, MP constituencies, which we seem to have taken from the Lib Dem/SDP/Liberal Alliance playbook from the 1980s-90s. This is all well and good if we want to be an irrelevant third party with just under 10% of MPs in 30 years time, but if we want to at least provide effective opposition to either Labour or the Tories, whoever is in government in about 10 years time, then we need to do more than just build slowly, even if we are yielding tiny results here and there.
Seeing as the London Mayoralty is likely to fall apart before 2012, and if Labour deny the Tories a significant majority in the commons in 2010, both events halting any tide of Tory sympathy sweeping the capital and the country, and considering that Labour has no one (apart from Alan Sugar) who has the personality to run for Mayor next time, after getting 1 or 2 MPs in 2010 we need to be taking a real and clear shot at London Mayor in 2012. None of this “maybe next time we’ll increase our percentage” stuff: we need to be bold, and we need to be ambitious. Upsetting the political establishment in London 2012 will provide a huge boost to a full-on general election campaign in 2014/5, when we need to be standing at least 30 candidates and aiming to return at least 20.
[...] This has sparked off comment on a number of blogs, including reviews by Jim Jepps here and here, Peter Cranie and this from Douglas [...]
Anon - I think these are interesting points.
GPRC in particular needs to be overhauled, or possibly abolished and replaced with something that functions in an effective and transparent manner. Or perhaps it just needs to streamline and focus on what’s important.
Personally winning something like the London Mayor would not be about a shift in electoral strategy but something far deeper. We’re a minority party in the sense that we appeal to a small part of the electorate but we do have an advantage in that many of the things we stand for are things that a far broader number of people are sympathetic with.
There’s no short cut or trick to winning over 30% (say) of the popular vote of a large city - but we do need to become part of people’s lives in between elections far more effectively if we are to win their support at the ballot box. I guess I’m talking about winning political influence for our ideas and taking that into the electoral field.
Why does someone not 100% happy with Caroline Lucas as leader have to be “Bitter and twisted” Anon? I find it very ungracious that you attack “Green Left” which is made up of individuals of quite widely varying opinions (split on the leadership debate for example) I think a lot of false paranioa on your part!
I wouldn’t be unhappy to see her win but would like some alternative candidates to put across what they stand for.
What will it look like if nobody but Caroline and Adrian Ramsey stand, a Coronation like that of Gordon Brown in the Labour Party.
I hope Derek Wall (or indeed someone else) does put himself forward (not promising I’ll vote for him) as he can put forward a different vision of where we should go as a party and we can feel that all the arguments have been had out before whoever wins can move forward. I’m sure that the confirmed candidates would prefer an election that is contested.
I didn’t vote for having leaders and will be better persuaded it was a correct move if we have an election that engages our membership and the wider electorate. A “coronation” would only increase cynicism within the party!
Nick Foster
Bristol East Green Party