Three days before the momentous by-election result in Gorton and Denton, which the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer won by a large majority, over 1500 people packed the Brighton Dome for Zack Polanski’s live podcast Bold Politics.
The current Green Party leader was talking to the former leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas. There was an excited buzz in the air among the audience of all ages – a mixture of anticipation and optimism which has been noticeably absent in recent politics.
Caroline Lucas – still actively engaged in environmental issues
Often referred to as “the best prime minister we never had”, Caroline Lucas has been busy since stepping down as the (then lone) Green MP two years ago. As well as training to be an end-of-life doula, she is now Professor of Practice in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Sussex – the first in that role – where she spoke at a panel discussion a week before the podcast.
At both events, Lucas was as eloquent, impassioned and well-informed as ever. She is angry that the climate emergency is being ignored by the government, which tried to suppress a report on the impact of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. This “truly shocking” report, she explained, was only published in a highly-redacted form after a freedom of information request; so far, the government has done nothing about it.
She was also highly critical of Keir Starmer’s emphasis on “growth”, which she sees as a way of not having to “address the obscene levels of inequality in this country”, and keeps power in the hands of the rich and powerful while ignoring or flouting environmental impacts. Anyone who’s watched the recent TV drama Dirty Business about the dire state of the UK’s seas and rivers would have to agree.
Community resilience and hope
But what’s refreshing about Caroline Lucas is that, almost in the same breath as articulating what is wrong with the government’s handling of environmental issues, she expresses optimism about what is happening on the ground, in communities and groups who are taking action into their own hands.
At the Dome event, Lucas talked a lot about what she called “community resilience” – communities coming together to support each other, growing and sharing food for example. She advocates this as a positive and inspiring way of tackling climate change, which “makes the conversation real for people” and is a powerful way to push back against the rise of the far right.
Quoting the writer Rebecca Solnit, Lucas described hope, not as a passive waiting for things to improve, but “as an axe to break down the doors with in an emergency”. She put it very movingly herself:
“Hope isn’t about smiles and sunshine. It’s about facing the fury of oppression and tackling it. It’s about showing up. It’s about actually being there and doing everything we can without knowing it’s going to be successful.”
Hannah Spencer – plumbing the gap left by Labour
As if to prove Caroline Lucas right, a few days later Hannah Spencer was elected as the fifth Green MP in the Gorton and Denton by-election, supported by thousands of enthusiastic volunteers. With nearly 41% of all the votes cast, she resoundingly beat the Reform UK candidate and pushed Labour into third place. This was by no means a predictable outcome: the Greens had no previous history of success in the area and, until the count, polls put the race in a three-way dead-heat.
The choice of Hannah Spencer was inspirational, although I admit to some scepticism beforehand: a 34-year-old local plumber, she is a comparative newcomer to politics. But her down-to-earth approach and refreshingly authentic voice led to a decisive victory and swing of 26.4% away from the previously large Labour majority.
Epitomising what Lucas described as “hope in action”, Spencer showed an ability to connect with ordinary voters and allied herself with the community where she has lived all her life. Her victory speech was brilliant and demonstrated why she won over traditional Labour voters:
“I work hard. That’s what we do… working hard used to get you something. It got you a house, a nice life, holidays. It got you somewhere. But now – working hard? What does it get you? … The people who work hard but can’t put food on the table… Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry.”
In other times, she would have made an ideal Labour candidate.
Hope not hate
I was particularly struck by the way Spencer criticised the divisiveness of current politicians in her acceptance speech:
“I won’t accept this victory tonight without calling out politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society. My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me – human… We don’t have to accept being turned against each other.”
This could be seen as calling out the extreme views of election rival, Matt Goodwin, the Reform UK candidate. But sadly, it could also describe Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s inhumane proposals on immigration and refugee status, which echo far-right rhetoric and will only exacerbate division.
Like Caroline Lucas, Spencer is expressing a more hopeful vision, of communities coming together in support of each other – a vision that our increasingly fractured society desperately needs.
To watch the live podcast, see: ‘We need a new political story’: Bold Politics with Zack Polanski.
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