We Need to Talk About Green Party Spring Conference

I had other plans today, but illness confined me to the duvet and I decided to attend the Green Party Spring Conference I had tickets for. I’ve spent a couple of weeks absorbing the agenda, looking forward to hearing debate around issues that affect people’s lives and helping to shape our policy platform.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. The day started with the voting system crashing continuously. There has been suggestions that this was a DDoS attack from interested parties, but I’m personally yet to see evidence of that.

What came next was hours of in-fighting that to my mind is reserved for the Labour Party or a SWP free-for-all. It was not until 3.20pm (after starting at 10am) that the first motion - the Standing Order Committee Report - even came to a proper vote.

Now, I should start by saying I am new to this. I don’t know people’s history, associations or viewpoints. But what I saw was SOC members accusing each other of power grabs and taking votes away from a sovereign conference. One SOC member, Martin Hemingway, misgendered another in a particularly nasty moment. I can only assume they know each other as long-standing members of the same committee and thus this was intentional and spiteful.

Votes of no confidence were continuously raised against the Chair, which - to a neutral party - were doing all they could under trying circumstances. By the third, I almost voted no confidence just to give them a break.

Once the SOC Report was finally voted through, things started to move on. There were short discussions on each topic and voting worked. However, a growing grey cloud of time running out was creeping overhead.

Time neared 5.30pm - 15 mins until the end of the conference. From my agenda sheet, not very much of it had been covered. I realised that what seemed to be the most contentious motion - that Zionism is racism - was about to come up. An extension of 15 minutes to the day was requested, voted on and agreed.

Cue more spurious raising of votes of no confidence against the Chair in a transparent, anti-democratic act of wasting time from people who quite obviously did not want the motion to be up for debate or vote.

In response, someone raised a motion to basket the amendments (group them and vote on them in one go) to the motion in a desperate attempt to have the Zionism motion heard in time. We heard an impassioned, tear-filled plea to vote for the basketing from someone whose family have suffered greatly at the hands of the Israeli state.

Just as they finished speaking, time had run out. The Chair, exhausted and emotionally drained, said their goodbyes as fast as they could and the Zoom call ended. A blank screen stared back at me and I wondered what the hell I’d just seen.

I came to this conference with excitement, but it seems several groups of opposing views on many subjects were unable to resist trying to stamp each other out. This isn’t the Green Party I have seen elsewhere. North Herts Green Party are a beautiful group of people with differing views but are respectful, kind, and pulling together. This Zoom call bun fight was embarrassing to be a part of and we must do better.

I don’t have the insight to know what needs to change, but that was a farce. People had dedicated weeks - months - to researching and preparing motions. Attendees and organisers gave up their Saturdays and money to contribute to the future of their party and some people chose to ruin that by trying to silence the other side of whichever debate they are overly married to that is stopping them being adult, reasonable members of a political party.

Maybe this is a fruitless call in modern politics, but if there’s a chance to ensure respectful debate and democratic voting on policy it must be taken. There are important things at stake.