In the last two years, dozens of Councillors have defected to the Green Party of England and Wales. Between April 2020 and August 2022 16 Labour Councillors crossed over from red to Green, with three Liberal Democrats and one Tory also making the same move.
At the Green Party’s autumn conference, taking place in Harrogate this weekend, Left Foot Forward spoke to some of those defectors about what triggered their decisions. The stories they told had many common themes – with many factors ‘pushing’ them from their former home, and others ‘pulling’ them to the Greens.
Jo Bird is a now Green Councillor in the Wirral. She was first elected under the Labour banner in 2018. Describing the Greens, as “the best party for social justice and environmental justice”, as a “credible party”, and a “political vehicle for winning elections”, Bird contrasts this heavily with her assessment of the Labour Party – particularly under the leadership of Keir Starmer. She accused Keir Starmer of lacking honesty, and suggested his recent policy announcements at Labour conference were “greenwashing”, and “leftwashing”.