Caroline Lucas MP, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

Caroline and the voters of Brighton Pavilion constituency made history on 6 May 2010 when she was elected as the UK's first Green MP, taking the seat from Labour.

Pic: (c) JJWaller.com

For the latest news and info on Caroline's work as an MP visit www.carolinelucas.com

 

Background

For the previous eleven years Caroline served as one of the Green Party’s first MEPs - elected in June 1999 to represent the South East of England region.

Caroline joined the Green Party in 1986 and has held many positions including National Press Officer (1987-89) and Co-Chair (1989-90). She won the party’s second County Council seat in 1993 and served on Oxfordshire County Council until 1997. She was elected Principal Speaker each year from 2003 to 2005 and again in 2007. In 2008 she was elected Party Leader.

At a time when Green issues have risen up the political agenda dramatically, Caroline’s work has not gone unnoticed. She has received a number of accolades for her work.

Caroline received the Michael Kay Award from the RSPCA in 2006 for her outstanding contribution to European animal welfare and BBC Wildlife listed Caroline in their "Top 50 Conservationists".

In 2007, Caroline was voted Politician of the Year by Observer readers in their annual Ethical Awards and in 2008 was judged one of the Guardian’s top “eco-heroes.”   

Work as an MEP (1999 - 2010)

In the European Parliament, Caroline is a member of the International Trade Committee and the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee. She also sits on the Parliament’s Temporary Climate Change Committee. She serves as Vice President of the Animal Welfare, Health and Consumer and Globlisation cross-party Intergroups, as Co-President of the Peace Initiatives Intergroup and is a member of the Parliament’s Permanent Delegation to Palestine.

Among some of Caroline’s achievements when she served as MEP:

• On the Trade and Energy Committee, Caroline forced the European Commission to undertake legal investigations into the British nuclear industry and promoted green energy as the alternative.
• On the Environment Committee, Caroline has amended legislation to strengthen the case against GM crops.
• She persuaded the Parliament to support the introduction of new environmental charges and noise restrictions on airlines, as the Parliament’s Rapporteur (draftsperson) for a Communication on the impact of air transport on the environment.
• She was instrumental in ensuring that the Parliament advocated vaccination for future outbreaks of Foot and Mouth disease, rather than mass slaughter, as Vice-President of the Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry.
• As Vice-President of the cross-party Animal Welfare group, Caroline has played a key role in keeping animal protection issues high on the agenda, and campaigned vigorously to maintain the future marketing ban on cosmetics tested on animals.
• She has used her position to commission EU research that showed safety guidelines for mobile phone masts are completely inadequate. Caroline has also submitted a Written Declaration (similar to an Early Day Motion) on the risks of exposure to electromagnetic field from radio frequency antennae and mobile telephones, and has called for more research into new technologies such as TETRA.
• She has been a high-profile campaigner against the war in Iraq. In the Parliament, Caroline has demanded a complete ban on the production and use of Depleted Uranium Weapons, put questions to relevant UK officials, and co-hosted a meeting of MEPs in Strasbourg.

An activist and campaigner

Caroline is an acknowledged expert on climate change, international trade and peace issues.

She has served as a Vice President of the RSPCA, the Stop the War Coalition, Campaign Against Climate Change and Environmental Protection UK (formerly National Society for Clean Air), as well as a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament National Council and a Director of the International Forum on Globalization.

The think-tanks Protect the Local, Globally and Centre for a Social Europe have Caroline as an Advisory Board Member, as does the Radiation Research Trust, the Transitions Towns Network and the Council of the Constitution Unit.

Caroline is a patron of Action for UN Renewal, the Venezuela Information Centre, Havant Literary Festival and Lifecycle UK and a matron of the Women’s Environmental Network.