In the 100 days since we were elected as your leadership team, the world has changed.
2016 has been confirmed as the hottest year ever on record. A man who talks hatred and division is on his way to the White House. Thousands more refugees are fleeing for their lives from places like Aleppo. And the Government is negotiating our future relationship with Europe on the basis of having our cake and eating it. Literally.
We are better than this.
And in the last 100 days we have seen evidence of this far and wide. Between us we have visited Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels, Calais, Cambridge, Canterbury, Dublin, Exeter, Glasgow, Grantham, Isle of Wight, Leeds, Lewes, Liverpool, London, Machynlleth, Malvern, Manchester, Much Wenlock, Newport Gwent, Norwich, Oxford, Scarborough, Sheffield, Shropshire, Somerset, Lancaster, Winchester, Witney and York.
Everywhere we go we find passionate people who know the power of working together and are rolling up their sleeves and getting on with it. Millions who know that Trump won’t last and Brexit solves nothing. Who are already working for what comes next.
That work is what allows us to keep our promise to communicate our strong Green vision – you are making that vision real.
So when the Government announced its intention to build a new runway at Heathrow and a new nuclear power plant at Hinckley, Jonathan was visible and vocal in our criticism of their plans and in setting out Green alternatives. He argued why other parties need to follow our lead on fracking. He took on the Daily Mail with his complaint about their coverage of refugee children. And he made the case for a universal education system based on opportunity, not the exclusivity of grammar schools
(He also did some drumming on national radio, but that’s another story).
Caroline addressed thousands of people in Parliament Square standing in solidarity with refugees. She spoke for hundreds of thousands when she challenged the Chancellor for his failure to even mention climate change in the autumn statement. And she stood up for more than the 48% when she told the Prime Minister that Britain deserves to know what a future outside of the EU might look like.
Amelia has travelled the country to passionately defend the right to free movement. She spoke to students and young people about free education for all at the #UnitedForEducation march. She spoke to thousands of people marking the anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, celebrating when our unity against the rise of the far right won over fear., got communities talking about air pollution and took to the streets in defence of libraries.
From Daily Politics to Newsnight; Murnaghan to Question Time; the Observer to the Daily Mirror; and across numerous blogs and social media; we have communicated a clear message about the Green Party and what we stand for.
We promised as well to help deliver a strong Green voice in every community, so we have supported election campaigns the length and breadth of Britain. In Witney we campaigned for Larry Sanders and his principled defence of our NHS. From Bath to Brockley via Braintree, Morecambe and Worcester and we’ve dropped in on important by election campaigns and helped make sure every voter knows what a Green vote can do.
And with your help, we are building a Party that reflects modern Britain. We’ve been working in particular on making sure equalities and liberation are at the heart of all we do as a Party – listening, learning and sharing. Thanks to all who have been part of this work and share our fierce commitment to overcoming hatred and exclusion.
We promised a step change in Green democracy and with the invaluable support and help of staff and volunteers are excited about new plans taking shape to give you a greater say in how the Party operates. More on that next year.
We stood for election on a promise to crack open the system and build a new modern politics, where power is redistributed and every vote counts.
That means having an ongoing conversation about progressive alliances – and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response. Local parties are rising to the challenge, asking themselves if this is something they should consider and exploring whether it might help them achieve their goals.
And to mark our 100 days we are pleased to announce the first of a special series of Q&A sessions with Green Party members to ensure this conversation continues and the whole Party has a say. On 23rd January 2017 you can join the co-Leaders live at 6.30pm on the Green Party’s YouTube channel for a live video Q&A. You’ll be able to ask us questions and we’ll try to answer as many as we can.
Jonathan and Caroline have always been open and honest about why they personally back progressive alliances and the chance to secure a fair voting system. And for us that doesn’t mean standing down, it means standing up for what we value. So we have travelled to Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Women’s Equality Party conferences to demand they stand up too – because all of us deserve better than we are currently getting. Wales Green Party Leader, Alice Hooker Stroud took the same message to Plaid Cymru conference.
Support is growing at a pace we never imagined, and in this final month of 2016, a year marked by division and despair, Greens took a small but important step for unity and hope.
Bold, brave Greens were instrumental in defeating a regressive alliance in the Richmond by election, showing that when we have more in common, it can make sense to work together.
The past 100 days have been historic. We live in a country where it seems people are feeling more insecure than ever before in our lifetimes. More frightened, more angry and more left behind.
But as 2016 draws to a close, we look to 2017 with hope and confidence.
Work for a better future always starts now and we want to thank you for being part of the change we all want to see. Together we can make sure 2017 is a different kind of year: Operation Hope starts now. Please ask your family and friends to join us.