At the Green Party national conference in Cardiff today, guest panelists affiliated to Labour and the Liberal Democrats emphasised the role that political plurality must play over the next few years if the status quo is to be challenged.
Warning that Labour cannot let the cuts do the job for them and expect to walk straight back into power, chair of Compass Neal Lawson called for the alignment of those on the centre left to promote a shared vision of a fairer society. This would not mean a compromise or shedding of principles. On the contrary, he said:
“We need to be tribalist to understand how we are being pluralist – tribalism strengthens pluralism. People who share a belief in a more equal and democratic world can retain their identity while working together.”
Richard Greystone, dissident Lib Dem, spoke of the gap between that party’s leadership and its members, who he says are still mainly of the centre left. He underlined the need for the left to come together where there was common ground in a way that the right already does effectively. He said:
“If we don’t have these conversations, the centre right neoliberal consensus that is developing will be the only option on the table if another coalition is formed.
“It was a Tory who said ‘politics is the art of the possible’ – if peoples’ imaginations are limited, they won’t think much is possible. Our challenge is to widen the imagination of possibilities.”