Today, senior members of the Green Party have joined the left-of-centre pressure group, Compass.
Caroline Lucas MP, the leader of the Green Party, and several of her colleagues have joined the organisation that gave prominent backing to Ed Miliband's bid to lead the Labour party. Compass also helped to fashion the idea of the Good Society, which the Labour leader has since championed.
Following a rule change vote by its membership, Compass recently decided to open out beyond Labour to everyone who shares its goals of a more equal, sustainable and democratic world.
As a result, for the first time, people belonging to other political parties can join.
Apart from Caroline Lucas, the Greens announcing today that they have joined Compass are: Darren Johnson (London Assembly), Patrick Harvie (male co-convenor of the Scottish Greens), and activists such as Rupert Read and Victor Anderson. Compass is developing what it is calling "Three Dimension Politics" - sitting between and mediating Labour, non-Orange Book Liberal Democrats, and the Greens, as a way of establish a progressive alliance for British politics.
Caroline Lucas said: "I'm delighted that Green Party members are now able to join Compass and subsequently play a more prominent role in the debate over the future of progressive politics in this country.
"As we face a Tory-led agenda of savage public spending cuts and increasing privatisation, it's more important than ever that elements of the political left come together to forge an effective opposition.
"By opening its ranks to the Greens, Compass has shown it recognizes the importance of putting sustainability at the top of the agenda."
Neal Lawson, chair of Compass, said: "Politics needs to adapt to the Facebook generation of multiple identities, shifting from a politics of hierarchy to trust-based networks. As the poor get poorer, the planet burns and the old politics fails to work, we urgently need to find new ways to restore democracy's ability to change the world."
Gavin Hayes, general secretary of Compass, said that there had been resignations from Compass, due to its decision to end its exclusive relationship with the Labour Party, but hundreds of new members are joining the organisation.
Notes
- On 29th March, Labour leader Ed Miliband will join former Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy MP, and Green leader Caroline Lucas, to launch the National Yes to Fairer Votes campaign as yet another sign of growing cooperation between centre-left politicians.