*Up to 2,000 members expected in Bournemouth
The Green Party will be holding its biggest-ever Conference on 25-28 September in Bournemouth (1).
Following the Greens’ best-ever performance in a General Election (2), in which the Party achieved one million votes for the first time, up to 2,000 Green Party members from across the UK will congregate for four days of policy-making, learning and networking.
At Conference, leading Green politicians will outline the Party’s key upcoming political and electoral campaigns. The urgent need for real action to deliver a safe climate will be one of the chief focus areas, ahead of the Paris climate conference in December.
Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, will deliver her Leaders’ Speech at 14.00 on Friday 25 September at BIC Bournemouth to assembled members, activists and political commentators.
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, who increased her majority by more than 10 percentage points at the General Election, will deliver a speech on Sunday (27 September) morning and chair panels on ‘Climate countdown to Paris’ and the EU Referendum.
Deputy Leaders Dr Shahrar Ali and Amelia Womack will address Conference at 10.30 on Saturday 26 September. Pippa Bartolotti, Leader of the Wales Green Party, will speak at 16.30 on Friday 25 September.
In advance of Conference, Bennett said:
"I look forward to meeting many new members and catching up with existing members at our Autumn Conference. The ‘Green surge’, which has seen the Party membership more than quadruple to 67,000 in just a year, shows that the political landscape is shifting. It is clear that the politics of the future will not look like the politics of the past.
"Green Party members attending Conference for the first time will be able to experience - and get involved in - the Party's uniquely democratic policy-making process, and make important decisions about our democratic structures. Many of our growing cohort of councillors will be at conference, sharing experiences with each other and those who are aiming to be elected in May next year, as we also look forward to the exciting prospect of proportional, fair elections in Wales, Scotland and London."
Also on hand at Conference will be the Party’s three MEPs – Jean Lambert, Molly Scott Cato and Keith Taylor – and the Green Party London Mayoral candidate, who will be unveiled in the first week of September.
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Notes
1) Conference will run over four days, from Friday noon to Monday 15.00. See more at: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/conference/timetable.html#sthash.Cq6JTfiC.dpufhttps://www.greenparty.org.uk/conference/#sthash.U4aJqJfM.dpuf