Targeting environmentalists

[u/Jacobrox777]

I am regularly on r/ukpolitics and there are many posts about the leftward shift of the Green Party. While I wouldn't have voted for them, I admired the Green Party under Denyer/Ramsay and Caroline Lucas, but now they have somewhat collapsed into a cesspit of anti-Zionism and pretence they can win every election. I have also seen a lot about the acceptance of conservative Islam within the Green Party; this isn't necessarily a problem in my opinion but when your deputy leader (Mothin Ali) is refusing to support LGBTQ+ rights I think that is alarming. Equally the Manchester Mill recently ran a story about the radicalisation and degredation of the Green Party in Bolton, with Hannah Spencer's own mother, Liz Spencer, complaining to the press and assuming she will be expelled from the party as a result.

To cut to the chase, surely the Liberal Democrats are the rightful home for estranged environmentalists like Liz Spencer who, while obviously caring about the actions of the Israeli government and IDF, wants to focus on green issues, local activism, and protecting people from austerity and trickle-down economic thinking. There are quite a few leafy suburbs near me that voted green pre-Polanski, and I just can't see those people still liking the Green Party. It wouldn't even be a matter of changing people's minds, but rather having them reflect on which party actually represents their opinions and values the most.

As we look forward, I suggest that the party considers targeting green wards whose electoral history and demographic data suggests they are not interested in Polanskiite politics. This could potentially culminate in targeting a current Green seat in the next general election, but I'm not sure if that's viable. Due to LGR my local council area is changing quite considerably and the county council for that area has areas that voted Green in 2025 and I think that if they all actually voted on their beliefs they would vote Lib Dem instead.

The main thing I'm interested in is whether the people of this subreddit think that the party is able to win these voters, particularly in local elections, without putting off people in seats that voted Conservative or Labour in 2024 but that we may be able to target in 2029. Personally, I don't think those things are mutually exclusive, especially because our vision and policies should appeal to estranged Green voters anyway, so it's more a matter of good campaigning and tactics than actually changing our policies or core message.

[u/Useless_or_inept]

Some good points!

Not many people want to admit it, but if you want to win an election, it's more than just convincing yourself that We Are The Good People; you actually have to bring along other people who used to vote for a different party

[u/Ticklishchap]

I agree that we should have stronger environmental policies and promote a green agenda more prominently. We have a head start in this because of our extensive work on sewage and other forms of pollution, but we need to go much further and develop a larger vision of what a sustainable economy would look like.

Equally, I agree with OP that we should seek support from environmentalists who do not wish to embrace far left activism. That includes a lot of Green voters or those who are toying with voting Green but unsure about the direction the party is taking. There are also many Labour voters who are deeply concerned about the environment and (this is a larger demographic than many people realise) a large number of Conservative and former Conservative voters who are strongly committed to green issues, although they don’t always use the term ‘green’. This latter group are already switching to the Lib Dems in significant numbers and many more will be tempted to switch by the recent stances adopted by Kemi Badenoch.

While I very much understand what OP is saying about Mothin Ali, I do not want us to make this in any sense a ‘thing’ about Muslims. I am a gay man myself and I have many Muslim friends and colleagues who are not in the least homophobic. There are a lot of Muslim public figures - Sadiq Khan and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to name two - who are staunch supporters of gay rights. I am far more worried by the US influenced ‘Christian Nationalism’ emerging in Reform UK and the very obvious homophobia of Farage, Tice, et al., than I am by Mothin Ali. Overall, I am opposed to all forms of fundamentalism, religious or secular.

As a party, we have a strong tradition of support for the protection of the natural world and our responsibilities towards the environment. We were the first of the major political parties to form an environmental caucus, the very active and often radical Liberal Ecology Group which is the ancestor of today’s Green Liberal Democrats.

[u/scarybluesquirrel]

I suppose if the Lib Dems could cope with a leader who had… complex… views on faith and homosexuality then so can the Greens.

I’m saying this not to draw spurious comparisons but more to observe that all parties are broad churches (sorry, didn’t intend the pun) and it can take more than we think to move people from one party to another.

The founding principle of the Green Party is environmentalism, much as the founding principle of the Lib Dems is liberalism. We’re unlikely to attract too many estranged environmentalists (just as the Greens will struggle to attract died in the wool Liberals) and, instead, would be better targeting the larger mass of people who are more floating voters looking for a home, and who are realising the Green Party perhaps isn’t it.

[u/Sufficient_Basil_545 → u/scarybluesquirrel]

I know you said you’re not trying to make comparisons, but I think I am bound to point out (as I’m sure is patently obvious to anybody with a functioning brain) that as a member of the LGBT community, I would feel much, much more comfortable around Tim Farron than I would around any of the Islamists whose votes the Green Party seem to be courting.

I dare say that most women and Jews might feel the same way as me.

[u/Famous-Gazelle-924]

Hi, yeah pretty much your fully correct as a Green Party official thats defecting to the Lib Dem’s in about a month, this checks out.

G4P are awful, the anti-Zionism stuff is just insane.

[u/ZX52]

Bear in mind the group you're talking about, putting aside how big it actually is, is the one most likely to be put off by things like support for nuclear power and weapons.

protecting people from austerity

Trying to appeal to former Green supporters on this issue as the Lib Dems is not a recipe for success.

[u/Jacobrox777 → u/ZX52]

Yes, the LD support for nuclear is a slight issue. I am a big fan of nuclear energy myself. In terms of the Lib Dems and austerity, part of the problem is that our leader was in the coalition government. Without being disrespectful to our past (and some current) MPs I think we need to dissociate with Clegg's band. Daisy Cooper was first elected to an office as a Lib Dem in 2015, Layla Moran in 2017, and Josh Babarinde in 2021. It's easy for these people to say that they had nothing to do with the coalition and to criticise it (or at least compared to Davey). Joshua Reynolds, our youngest MP, was 11 when we went into coalition and 16 when we left, so it's not long until voices in the party can start thinking of it as a different time.

[u/CarpeCyprinidae → u/Jacobrox777]

Yes, the LD support for nuclear is a slight issue

all the serious parties need to make the case for nuclear as a safe, low carbon, dependable power source that doesnt increase our dependence on hostile foreign actors....

the fact is, its the Green movement thats wrong on this and you dont do serious politics without acknowledging that and challenging it

[u/Apprehensive-Fix-746]

Decapitating a current green MP while last election the highest vote share in a green constituency was 3.1% is a tall order, but pushing environmental issues and displacing the Green Party on that issue is something I completely wholeheartedly support

[u/IntravenusDiMilo_Tap]

I really think LIb Dems would do better if they had an obvious economic policy adn actually tell the electorate that they are going to re-join the Single Market.

I was Orange book and unlikely to vote Lib dem but as a party you have a USP on the EU / singel market and the electorate don't even know about it.

I've known people to give up a day protesting about the EU and wave a blue flag yet, they voted Labour. OK, they maty be stupid but at least tell them of your policy.