Incumbent Green Party co-leaders, Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay, running for the Green leadership have called for the party to maintain a “distinctive identity” following the announcement of a new left wing party founded by ex-Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
Ellie Chowns MP for North Herefordshire, and current co-leader and MP for Waveny Valley Adrian Ramsay have argued that while the Greens share many values with Corbyn and Sultana, their policy platform must remain separate.
Specifically, Chowns has pointed to a lack of discussion of any environmental policy in relation to the new party, saying: “Any party that does not have climate and environment front and centre is part of the old politics, not the new.”
The announcement comes as rival candidate and current deputy leader Zack Polanski has hinted that he is open to an alliance with Corbyn and Sultana’s party, saying it would be down to Green Party members to vote on the question.
Ellie Chowns said: “Much of the statement released by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana today – on redistributing wealth, public ownership of utilities, resisting NHS privatisation and calling out the government’s complicity in genocide – could have been taken straight from the Green Party manifesto.
“But there is only a passing glance to the climate crisis. Any party that does not have climate and environment front and centre is part of the old politics, not the new.
“Large numbers have joined the Greens from Labour in the past few years, and our door is very much open for anyone who aligns with core Green values. We’re standing up for these values and challenging Labour every day in Parliament. And our record electoral success under Adrian’s and Carla’s leadership shows that we’re bringing the public with us.”
Adrian Ramsay added: “It remains to be seen what this new party will amount to, but this development underlines how crucial it is for the Green Party to keep its distinctive identity, with our clear focus on both social and environmental justice. Turning the party into a Jeremy Corbyn support act would be a huge mistake.
“Recent YouGov polling shows that the Green Party is a more attractive choice than a Corbyn-led party among people who voted for all the other parties in 2024.
“That’s because our values — fairness, compassion, the courage to speak truth to power — resonate with people from every background and in every community. We’ve heard this on the doorstep and proved it at the ballot box.
“It’s this that has driven our growing success in recent years. Ellie and I are lifelong campaigners with strong track records of building the wide appeal needed to win elections, and our focus is on taking that success to the next level.”
The main tension in the Green leadership contest is between Chowns and Ramsay’s vision of an environmentally-focused party which would aim to win over a broad coalition of voters including ex Tory voters concerned about the environment, and Zack Polanski’s more ‘eco-populist’ vision for the party.
The latest polling from YouGov shows that a larger share of potential Green voters support Polanski’s politics, and that their top priorities include the NHS and the cost of living, priorities they share with most voters in the country.
78% of those people believe that the party must form electoral pacts, and 45% see the new Corbyn-Sultana party as ‘similarly minded’ to the Greens. 44% see the Liberal Democrats as a potential ally.
This is coupled with a greater emphasis on environmental issues and the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Polanski has voiced support for a wealth tax to help fund net zero policies, and has also said that the UK should withdraw from NATO due to Donald Trump’s behaviour towards member states, such as his threats to annex Greenland.
Central to Ramsay and Chowns’ bid is their strategy to build on the Greens’ record electoral sucess at the 2024 general election. However Ramsay has faced criticism for his refusal to definitively answer whether he believes trans women are women, and his vocal opposition to the construction of electricity pylons in his constituency.
Following the announcement of a new left wing party by Corbyn and Sultana, calls have been made for an electoral pact with the Greens in order to avoid splitting the left-wing vote.
The campaign group We Deserve Better, which pushes for electoral alliances on the left, have called for the parties to work together to provide an alternative to Labour.
Online ballots for the Green Party elections open on Aug 1, and run throughout the month. The result will be announced on Sep 2.
