Congratulations to Derek Wall – a regular in the comments box on this blog – on being elected one of the Green Party’s two principal speakers, effectively making him its joint leader.

This is great news for the left. Derek, an open ecosocialist, won the poll for the position by 767 votes to 705, ousting the more moderate Keith Taylor.

The development comes just months after the formation of Green Left, an organised ecosocialist tendency in the Green Party, of which I believe Derek is a member. Seems like that section of the Greens is advancing strongly.

Only a couple of weeks ago, I heard Derek speak at a public meeting, and admit that he did not expect to win. Presumably that will make victory all the sweeter.

As I have argued before, there is nothing inherently socialist about Green ideology. In Leeds, for example, they have formed a coalition with the Tories to run the city’s council.

But the Greens – in the UK, at any rate - are unmistakably an anti-establishment party. They are against the war on Iraq, they are anti-racist and anti-homophobic, the reject the current laws on immigration, trade unions and cannabis.

Where Green policies and socialist policies coincide – and they often do – then of course Greens and socialists should work together. Derek’s election will make that all the easier.

Incidentally, the Green Party has 92 Councillors on 38 Councils, two London Assembly members and two MEPs. The separately-organised Scottish Greens also have around half a dozen MSPs.

‘Mr Tatchell said: "The people of Oxford have an opportunity to make history by electing Britain's first Green MP."

‘He warned that he would not be "bossed around by the party whips" but be an "independent-minded" Green MP.’

Yes, a Green Party presence at Westminster would be a good thing. And yes, Peter - pictured left - would make an excellent MP.

The thing is, he doesn’t actually stand much chance of getting elected. Last time round the Greens polled a deposit-losing 4.3% in the seat, finishing fourth behind the three main parties.

But if he doubles that showing – and given his high profile, that’s entirely possible – he could take enough of the progressive vote to hand it to the Lib-Dems.

And as the debate surrounding Respect’s challenge to Livingstone underlines, this is an issue that will crop up repeatedly in future. The loss of seats in such circumstances will be a price Labour will pay for alienating what should be one of its natural bases of support.

Ultimately it is missing the point to blame smaller parties for this situation. In a liberal democracy, they have every right to contest elections.

If Labour doesn’t win any given seat, at whatever level, there is only one reason. It didn’t convince enough people to vote for it.

One of this blog’s nearly famous and well-connected readers – it does have them, you know – emails with the following proposition:

‘The "real" story about Tatchell and the Greens is that after two failed attempts, they’ve clearly ditched Brighton Kemptown as their number one Westminster target seat, and dumped the buffoonish Keith Taylor with it, and are going for celeb power and proven radical campaigning track record with Oxford and Peter.

‘Greens were/are very strong on the city council, so with a good candidate it’s not as far fetched as all that. Well, second place isn’t, anyway!’

Sounds about right to me.

UPDATE: Slight cock-up, as spotted by Andrea in the comments. The Greens's previous top target seat was Brighton Pavilion, not Brighton Kemptown. But the general argument still stands.

I hope the many young people attending any of the events – as well as those sitting at home watching the gigs on telly – enjoy the music. But can even the mighty combined forces of the Pussycat Dolls (pictured left), Spinal Tap and Duran Duran with Justin Timberlake really do anything to enhance the future prospects for this planet?

On top of everything else, the involvement of Al Gore rather sticks in the craw. During his stint as vice-president, the US politician who preaches environmental responsibility from his none-too-eco-friendly 20-room mansion in Nashville pushed through the Nafta trade pact, which included clauses that define environmental regulation as illegal ‘market distortion’.

Gore is well aware that if he does decide to run for office in future, he will need funding from the oil industry, as all US presidential contenders do. So don’t expect him to put forward any proposals that will alienate them.

Mainstream politicians have failed to tackle inequality or stand up to the power of the media, the corporations and the bankers. So how can we trust them over the environment?

The deals they have struck so far have meant little. Greenhouse gas emissions have actually increased by about 10% since the Kyoto summit.

Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history. The negative consequences have already included a substantial and irreversible loss of biodiversity, and considerable environmental degradation.

The poor bear the worst effects, with the environment often a principal factor in poverty and social conflict. So yes, it is a class issue.

Tomorrow’s concert is likely to attract a huge global audience. But it's only rock 'n' roll. I suspect it will do less than it says on the recycled tin for international environmental awareness.

This is a guest post by Matt Sellwood, Green Party PPC for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, the constituency in which I live. He blogs at Anglo-Buddhist Combine. The article - edited by me for wordcount and style, not for politics - is published simply to stimulate discussion; this website calls for a Labour vote on June 4th. But if you can’t be good, be careful, as my old dad always used to tell me. A contribution in support of No2EU is expected shortly.

THE BRITISH left should be getting behind MEPs like Jean Lambert, and aiming to ensure their re-election on June 4th. We need to do everything within our power to ensure that those progressive politicians we already have on a European level remain there for another
term.

Of course, some people on the left will be tempted to vote for the No2EU slate, arguing that it represents a workers initiative. In fact, it represents a bureaucratic lash-up by RMT officials, who have not consulted their own union membership and are wasting vast amounts of money on election deposits (£5,000 in each region) that they cannot possibly hope to retain.

Even in the current febrile political climate, they have not registered in any opinion polling - hardly a surprise, given the fact that they only announced their slate of candidates a couple of weeks ago. No2EU includes some comrades with excellent records - but its platform is extremely problematic, and that it has absolutely no hope of getting even one MEP elected.

Given the option between re-electing a clearly radical and leftwing Green MEP, with a record that puts most 'left Labour' MPs to shame, or casting an entirely wasted vote for an ill thought out and inexplicably badly organised Communist Party of Britain/Socialist Party slate, I know what I'll be choosing to do.

A large portion of the UK’s social, environmental and human rights legislation is now discussed, voted on and ratified in Europe. The UK left needs to be much smarter in understanding Europe, and what is going on there.

A good start would be to appreciate the work of the few progressive representatives we currently have at Strasbourg. Specifically, we have two of the most radical Greens in Europe representing UK voters in London and the South-East, in Jean Lambert and Caroline Lucas respectively.

In this brief piece, I’m going to focus on Jean. A sample of her most recent work will have to serve as an indication of her consistently radical record as an elected representative.

Working Time Directive

Jean has been an opponent of the UK opt-out to the Working Time Directive since it was introduced, and has campaigned for years to see it abolished. In December 2008 she helped lead the Parliamentary moves to remove the opt-out, which were successful, and have forced the Labour government to contemplate new restrictions on corporate power.

Public Services

Jean has been one of the strongest voices in the European Parliament against privatisation of services, which has included a strong stance against GATs and for the European Trade Union Confederation’s public services campaign. She has marched in support of the NHS and chaired debates on health inequality and poverty in London. The European Public Service Union's high opinion of her can be seen throughout their public statements - for example, here.

Immigration

Jean is the European Green Group’s lead MEP on asylum and immigration issues, and has taken a prime role in both person-specific struggles and legislative efforts towards a more just and tolerant system. She was a prominent supporter of an effort in the Parliament to stop EU countries from deporting asylum seekers back to Iraq, and has campaigned vigorously against deportation of children.

Human rights

Jean was named the Human Rights and Justice MEP of 2005, so you would expect her record to be excellent on this issue. She has been an outspoken and persistent opponent of the travesty of justice at Guantanamo Bay, and an active member of the Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry on CIA flights and temporary rendition. She has also campaigned on the issue of rape as a weapon of war …

If you’re interested in more information on Jean’s views and activities, please visit her MEP site, her campaign blog or her Facebook supporters page.

NOW THAT the question of whether white men can play the blues has been definitively answered in the affirmative, attention shifts to the topic of whether red men – or women, of course – can be members of the Green Party, whose annual conference kicks off in Brighton today.

Opinions on the far left have always been divided on this one. Many revile them as an entirely petit bourgeois neo-Malthusian SDP manqué outfit, more concerned with curbing bovine flatulence than throwing themselves behind workers’ struggles; on the other hand, at least one Trotskyist group operated a small entrist faction in the 1980s, and today sensible Marxists seek out ecosocialist dialogue.

Full disclosure: before rejoining Labour in 2006, I did give serious consideration to signing up with the Greens, and I have voted for them in several elections at all levels. If belonging to a party were simply a matter of agreement with paper positions, than I am closer to the Green outlook than the New Labour orthodoxy on issue after issue, including employment rights and civil liberties as well as the environment.

I am also aware of the good work being done by Green Left, an entirely indigenous tendency of socialists, and count some of those involved with it as personal friends.

So why didn’t I take out a card? Well, at the gut level, it would just not have felt right. I do not think I could be at home in a party that has no organic ties with the labour movement. Yes, I am that much of a tribalist. Sorry, can’t help it.

In the Independent this morning, Andy McSmith considers the outlook for the Greens, who do seem set to secure parliamentary representation at the next general election, with Caroline Lucas probably favourite to win in Brighton Pavilion.

As the report makes plain, the Greens increasingly see their future in the political mainstream, and the party machine is bureaucratising fast. To the extent that meaningful organisation is a prerequisite for serious politics, that is unavoidable and probably even a good thing.

One or more Green voice at Westminster will be useful, especially if Lucas and anybody else who makes the cut use the opportunity skilfully to reinforce their message. But it will bring dangers, too.

Historical experience from country after country underlines the way in which Green parties can start off as a virtual adjunct to the revolutionary left and move sharply to the right when they start to hit the big time.

Obviously, all radicals in British politics are currently wandering aimlessly in a maze seemingly without an exit marked ‘success’. The position that socialists should be in the Greens is surely at least as tenable as the idea that they should choose voluntarily to be bound and gagged in New Labour or opt for impotence and isolation in one of the microsects.

I certainly could not proclaim with any conviction that the left of the Green Party should come over and reinforce the Labour left instead. But until this logjam is somehow broken, the left as a whole will remain weak and divided.