Joining a political party that is considered ‘progressive’ has been rather like buying a brand-new mobile phone after seeing the adverts of all the impressive features it has and then discovering that its operating system is fifteen years out of date.
Operating systems are important. Progressive policy making is not enough to ensure the changes we seek.
Membership of the Green Party of England & Wales (GPEW) has risen from 60k members before May 2025 to nearly 230k today. The party has five MPs in the House of Commons, and two members of the House of Lords, in addition to over 1,300 councillors at local government level and three members of the London Assembly. There are over 200 local Green Parties in cities and in rural areas, where members can campaign for the issues that matter to them, and make a difference for the community they live in.
The 2024 Manifesto was billed as “Change to create a greener, fairer country together.” Policies are progressive and include: a wealth tax, renters’ rights, greener homes and energy and defending human rights, democracy and justice. The party operates on the principle that politicians are not whipped; the Greens have socialist values. All necessary and exciting after years of neo-liberalism.
Zack Polanski was elected leader of the Green Party in September 2025. His election did not change policy – members do that at conference. It did not change the direction of the party – the executive, of which he is one member, do that. Zack’s election signalled a change of culture in the party.
A bit of history
The party was founded in 1973 as the ‘People Party’, operating under a traditionally hierarchical system. This system prefers top-down leadership, everyone knows their place and everything works well if no-one rocks the boat. The army, the churches and government are good examples of organisations using this model. And for good reason, discipline is necessary for the functions that these organisations fulfil.
Since 2010, when Caroline Lucas was elected as the first Green MP, many individuals in the party turned to a more meritocratic system. In a modernist meritocratic system, the person who works the hardest is the brightest, most efficient, best on social media, becomes the leader or gets the top job. Everything is fair, equality is important.
Many councillors, democratically elected under this system, now find themselves at odds with their local party, a clash manifesting at a personal level masking the fundamental difference in the traditional versus the evolving meritocratic operating system.
Over the last year since Zack became leader, we are seeing an influx of new members, many young and many who have experience of activism, especially within Extinction Rebellion(XR). The success of XR can be attributed to its operating system which enabled fast-moving planning and execution of action. This model views the world as a complex system, requiring a systemic, integrated, interconnected response if change is to be successful.
Leadership is fluid, skilfully holding the space where shared ideas, plans and solutions are brought and enabled. Decisions are made by those who will be most affected by the outcome of those decisions.
Joining the local party
In 2021 I joined my local party, and was elected County Councillor in a by-election in 2023 – a trajectory not uncommon in a small, emerging political party. I had a lot to learn and adjust to, being more familiar with the inner city and with organisations such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) which had inspired me with its model of distributive leadership and shared decision making.
In my new rural local party, which had had some significant electoral success, it quickly became apparent that more established members saw no reason to evolve from a traditional, hierarchical model. Each local party is autonomous (while obviously adhering to legal requirements) and so how they operate is a post code lottery! In mine, the Officers keep ordinary members informed and invite them to do tasks, but any further involvement is restricted to the Annual meeting.
The Green Party’s election campaign process, known as ‘Target to Win’ (TTW), follows the modernist meritocratic system. TTW uses a template of newsletters, canvassing scripts and focused canvassing on ‘target’, winnable wards. It has proved hugely successful, notably in achieving the election of four new MPs in 2024 and many councillors in 2026.
However, the clash of cultures between the traditional hierarchical system used to run many local parties and the modern, meritocratic method of TTW is noticeably causing ruptures – particularly when members who have knocked on doors are not welcomed into decision-making and development of the party.
The Green Party election success is proven, especially when throwing all resources at targeted seats such as in Hannah Spencer’s by-election win in Gorton & Denton. There is every reason to anticipate being involved in some kind of power-sharing following the General Election in 28/29, however success in implementing the more radical policies is much less assured.
Labour’s new leader offers an opportunity for restructuring
Burnham’s probable election as Prime Minister will likely slow down the rise of the Green Party while the electorate decide if his offer is an improvement on Starmer’s. This hiatus offers the opportunity to do some significant work on updating our operating system across the party.
Zack Polanski calls on us to “make hope normal again”, to build communities based on kindness, connection, and real alternatives.
The Green Party commitment to nature offers a new template where every part of the web of life is interconnected, intercommunicating, co-dependent.
To implement radical policies successfully, the Green Party will have to change its operating system. That change lies in the belief that everyone has a contribution to make: it must connect, communicate and trust local autonomy. Local parties must be connected to the wider network with a trusted distributive decision-making process.
The way we operate will signal the change we seek in the system.
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