Makin' Your Mind Up

So I’m going all partisan on you. My strict policy of utter neutrality* is now to be abandoned to reveal what I will be doing on Thursday in the European election.

And the answer is that I have decided to give the Greens a go.

There is a whole host of reasons for this, but some of them are as follows:

Across a big multi-member constituency, there is real scope for smaller parties to be successful. 8 MEPS for London means that 12.5% guarantees an MEP for the Greens – and last time they got in with under 11%.

Across Europe, the Green Party is actually a far more cohesive force that many of the other groupings.

The Green group is the fourth largest in the parliament with 59 MEPS. The vast majority of these are Greens, with a few minorities (like the SNP) thrown in for light relief. Compare that to the left or right groups which have much more disparate memberships.

Whilst the EU has not been an unqualified success in all areas, it has generally set standards for individual rights (e.g. consumer protection) and environmental standards, which have improved our quality of life. And these are areas where the Green movement has led the charge. (On that point, when you here UK politicians talking about EU interference, think about this story. I watched a programme about the Thalidomide tragedy on TV last week. Distillers, the importer of the (German manufactured) drug defended on the grounds that they only shipped it in, and had no liability, having not done any testing. Nowadays that importer would have a strict liability – it is liable even if at no fault. And this is due to EU action.)

There are some downsides to the Green Party – and this is where I have had to do most of my thinking. 

There is still an anti-science tendency. They've backed down form supporting homeopathy – leader Natalie Bennett calling it “scientific nonsense” on the excellent Pod Delusion here. But I struggle with the “trashing” of GM test-sites (Genetically Modified foods). By all means oppose things, but stymieing research through violence probably isn't the right way.

And there is still a lot of bashing of bankers and capitalism in general. Whilst the last six years has shown huge defects in our current capitalist model, around complexity, regulation and concentration of power, it isn't all bad. But for capitalism, we’d all still be serfs working for the local Lord of the Manor.

I've at least parked these concerns, if not got over them – I think they’d be back if I thought the Greens were a government-in-waiting. All parties have their recidivist tendencies – there are true planned economy socialists within Labour, and anti-gay Tories, and Lib-Dems who don’t believe in selling out their principles for power. (If you are any of the things above, simply reverse the premise and see that as the unacceptable wing of your party – Blairite capitalist Labour, Conservatives with a conscience etc.)

I have decided that in the round, the plusses outweigh the minuses. For Europe anyway. For the local Council I'm still thinking. I have three votes. Standing are 1 Green, 1 UKIP, 2 Liberals and three each for Lab and Con. For this election I'm still in Buck Fizz time.