Greens: found itself under pressure from a leadership Socialist Network tive involvement. By Steve Potter A new political current has been estab- The Second Green and Socialist Con- campaigning workshops focussing on ques- established lished around the idea of cco-socialism. ference, mecting in London on 24-25 March, decided to organise a network linking socialists within the Greens and The conference attracted nearly 300 par- beipants around a programme of policy and lions of economics, political alliances, new Corms of political power and pam-European en- Green and greens within the Labour Party, vironmental strategies. The opening plen- ary was addressed by Robin Cook from the Lahour Parly, Froca Chagman From the Green Party and Joost Langendejk from the was a measure of the which at least part of takes the ecological the Lahour leadership Challenge. He won ap- Dutch Green Left. Chapman.
The problem is that the discussion is con- fined to a theorctical debate, not connected the case since the dismantlement of local opposite way round. No interesting discussion at all, but the presence of Green and Red I believe that the potential for Red-Green else. The problem is, of course, your clectoral with any political practise. This is particularly government and the GLC. In most Wester European countries the situation is exactly the vote in Brilain is greater than almost anywhere politicians at all levels. ing the network will not their parly. The task of sustain- be easy, since Green ac- tivists have as a priorily the fight for policy Lahour Party actvists too want to tum the boast of their Icadership that the Labour Party will be a Rod Green The idea that a new party can he launched at this stage would also be wildly premature. party "by the next clection" into action. Pollution In Czechoslovakla: not a pratty addressed the question of what political plat- form 4 new eco-socialist movement should stand on, embracing liberation politics, social This was the central theme of two days of sight East or West: justice and defence of the environment. his call for proportion- Labour's past practise approach to on Green issues and audience for his self- al represcruition.
I want to deal with two questions: a brief sibilities of cooperation across Europe berween These three parties are the Radical Party, the Pacifist Socialist Party, and the Communist history of the Dutch Green Left and the pos- In Holland since the end of the sixties there have been three parties to the left of the Labour Party. All three of them had seats in national parliament and many scats in local councils, From the beginning of the eighties all three Party, In the eighties these three parties Page 29 parties suffered declining electoral results. Green Socialists. The main task must be the clarification af an eco-socialist strategy particularly in the Field of economies, and the pushing forward ues, but also within the trade umon and sta- dent movement, where the potential for Green (For further information on the Green and Socialist network, contact the Green and Socialist Conference, clo 9 Poland Street, of that strategy, not only within the two par- and Socialist alliances remains untapped, London WI.) The eco-socialist current is in a state of lux. Organisationally divided fand therefore wakened) between the Labour Party and Green Party, it is under pressure from both party leaderships to conform more closely to In the Labour Party's case this is reflected in the result of 1 recent ballot conducted amongst the 600 or so members of the Socialist Environment and Resources Associa- tion (SERA). The result of the baller an- nounced on 26 March, was a 53-47 percent SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 24, May 1990 vole to affiliate to the Labour Party. parly boundaries:
FEATURES cooperated together, especially in local elections and at a Europcan In April 1989 they started negotiations for united action in the national clections. The result was un agreement to form a new politi- cal formation - the Green Left. Be- sides the three parties mentioned, there was a fourth party - the Progressive Christians, and there was most importantly a whole num- ber of poople who were in no party. level.
The central issues for the Green Left in the election was the intro- duction of an ecological tax, the so- called Green sax, on products either at the manufacturing stage or when they are consumed. This is where prohibition is not prac which destroy the environment
In my view, the task of the Green Left par- between the partics of categories one and two. strongest shoulders carry the heaviest bur- ties of the third category is to form a bridge The result should be the formation of one new politicel current in Europe - the Green Tam convinced the only way both Left and Green parties can survive is to cooperate. In the best of both worlds I am convinced that this is the only way to deal with both capitalism and the pollution ofour environment. Socialists have to give up the idea that these rather strange Green parties are fashionable and will Care for the environment is not a thing you can add on to all the other things you want to achieve withour changing the basic premises about economic growth and the wish for more products, production and con- On the other hand Green parties need to realise that the fundamental change in possible when private ownership of key in- dustries is brought to an end and when the I finish by hoping that we can discuss the question of Green Lefi polities in the future Left on the basis of a worked out theory, you cal practise on both the local and national production and consumption patterns is only from different positions. The Dutch Green SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 24, May 1990 Both have to accept there there are very - tWO on the basis of a strong and successful politi- big cultrual differences between the wither away within a lew years. should survive.... sumption, that cooperation It's not just a lot of hot air: German business takes wind power seriously movements. dens. combine the traditional socialist demands for environmental demands... how to achieve a more just distribution of income along with "The big debate in the Green Left Is how to democratic economy with a sustainable ccological taxes has to be worked out more I would now like to widen the perspective and look around Europe to other parties and movements that could be any help. With a grand gesture, T want to divide Wester Europe into three kinds of countries on the Firstly, those countries where Lef is al- most identical with social democratic: Where Green parties develop they deline diemselves. as neither Left nor right. Examples of that are Secondly, those countries where there 15 a small and Greece. In Italy the same thing is happen- strong communist party which is now trying to reform itself into an undogmatic Left party Green movement. This is the case with Spain ing except here the Communists have hecome social-democratic over the years and you have the formation of a Green-Left party ourside matic Left party has been able to incorporate Green thinking and as a result of that separate Green parties have failed - Denmark, Norway and Holland. In the same category belong those countries where Green parties have managed to incorporate small Left parties - Thirdly, those countries where an undog in cooperation with an, up till now, economy" point of Green and Rod politics. France, Britain and Sweden.: Belgium and Germany. the communist party. precisely. dropped behind by 50 per cont during the last In the 1989 elections we won six scats in elections that were held on 21 March. the Gron Left won more than 350 local council seals, a 50 per cent increase from the votes wo it micant that we would have won 7 per cent of We are particually strong in the major the national purliament compared to the three seats the three parties won before. In the local received in 1986. Translated in national terms tion the other parties criticised us on the no- Lian of ccological taxes. The social democrats said that such a Dutch tax could not work in and socialists in the Green Left thought that these taxes would affect the incomes of the low- paid. They wanted the Green Left to put pres- sure on the companies, not the individual con- On the question of restoration of social benefits of course we had right wing critics. But we also had right wing critics within the environmental movement, who said that we were propping up levels of comsumption. In- stead they argued for a negative economic We have to admit that some of our critics on the ecological taxes were right. The idea of centres, winning 15 per cent of the vote in Amsterdam and 17 per cent of the vote in to combine the traditional socialist demands for more just distribution of income along with environmental demands. in other words how to achieve a democratic ficently answered yet. In the national elec- The big dehate in the Green Left is how This crucial question has not been suf- Europe. The communists seven ycars of right wing governments. economy with a sustainablic coonomy. The second point was the res- torabion of social benefits to the same level as wages, benefits have the votes. Page 30 Utrecht unilled growth. sumer.
carried out for the committee by fect the running of schools; and though that has been done before in documents ranging from the Rampton Report to the Commis- sion for Racial Equality's Learn- in terror, the evidence provided by the Macdonald In- quiry, and particularly the survey Elinor Kelly is an important addi- playground: the