While her constituency may be down in Brighton, many Islingtonians are sorry to hear that Caroline Lucas has announced her intention to step down as an MP at the next General Election. Since 2010 she has punched far above her weight as the Green Party’s only elected representative at Westminster, securing significant policy changes, shaping the course of the national debate, and demonstrating a different way of doing politics. At a time when prime ministers can talk nonsense, lie in the house or need Ethics Advisers to tell them what is right or wrong, Caroline has been a constant touchstone of principle, commitment and common sense.
Her reason for stepping down is that her responsibilities to her constituents and being the Green’s sole MP simply reduce her ability to address the Nature and Climate emergencies – the overarching challenges that drive her. She went into politics to change things – and has! – but as these accelerating threats become more and more urgent, she wants to be able to concentrate on them fully, instead, and explore more imaginative and creative ways of doing so. Tributes and thanks for Caroline are already pouring in, but, personally, I’m more interested in celebrating what she’s achieved, rather than mourning her loss, and, particularly, in looking forward to hearing what she does next.
Gary Lineker tweeted to say ‘This is a great shame. Just as we need more Green MPs, we lose our first’, and who am I to argue with Gary! But one of the reasons Caroline feels able to take this decision now is her confidence that Brighton Pavilion won’t be the only place with a Green MP after the next election. Her own majority there has increased at each General Election since 2010, and now, even with the UK’s archaic and unrepresentative first-past-the-post voting system, Greens look poised to win seats in a number of areas, both urban and rural.
She’ll be a hard act to follow in parliament but I believe the new Green MPs who take on her baton will be similarly impressive.
Andrew Myer, Islington Green Party