Greens 'now mainstream', says first MP in region

The co-leader of the Green Party said it was "on a roll and very much in the mainstream of politics".

Adrian Ramsay, who became the East of England's first Green MP by winning the Waveney Valley seat straddling Norfolk and Suffolk, said the party was already making a difference.

It now has four MPs in Parliament and plays a part in the running of seven councils across the region, including Mid Suffolk, where it has overall control.

But as its annual conference gets under way, a leading environmental campaigner has called on the party to be more bold and "tell the public some difficult truths".

Despite being elected in July, Adrian Ramsay was only able to move into his Westminster office this week.

It is empty apart from two desks, a sofa and a fridge. He hasn’t had time to unpack.

Across the corridor, a small team of staff are helping him and the other three Green MPs with constituency correspondence.

"It hasn’t been ideal," he said. "People were contacting me as soon as I was elected."

But he added the disruption had not stopped him from doing his job.

He took part in a debate about local health provision this week to raise the issue of dentist shortages.

"Having four MPs means having more voices in more places. We get called in debates, we can put more issues on the table and push the government to be bolder.

"So, whether it’s representing constituents or pressing the government to invest in the NHS and take real action to defend our environment, the Greens are there."

For the former Norwich City councillor, getting into Parliament along with his colleagues is just part of the Green success story.

They had another record set of local election results this year and have more than 800 councillors across the country, including 141 in the East of England.

"We’re on a roll, we’re very much in the mainstream of local politics and we are making a real practical difference to residents every day.

"At our conference, we will be celebrating but we will also be looking at how we use our increased profile around the country."

The wider environmental movement is delighted by the Green Party's success but some worry, in becoming mainstream, it may become more cautious when speaking about climate change.

Norfolk campaigner Rupert Read said the party needed to use its raised profile to be more dramatic in its words and actions.

"The difficult truth is that climate impacts are coming and we are catastrophically poorly prepared for things like wildfires and flooding and I would love it if the Greens were to spend more time talking about this as an absolute, urgent national priority," he said.

Prof Read was a founder of Extinction Rebellion and now runs the Climate Majority Project, which tries to raise awareness of the issue.

He said the Greens should be "systematically pressurising" the government on climate adaptation and encouraging communities to become resilient.

"If Greens highlight over and over again the weaknesses in the system and show by their leadership they can do something about it, that will put them in a strong position in future elections."

Adrian Ramsay insists Green MPs are holding the government to account but have to be careful how they do it.

"As a politician, you have to strike a balance," he said.

"You don't get very far just by shouting, you have to work behind the scenes with other parties and build relationships to have a real impact on what's decided."

He will tell the conference his party's professionalism in Parliament and local government is one of the reasons it is seeing support and numbers grow year on year.

And he will tell his party to start preparing for next year's local elections, where the Greens stand another chance of doing well.

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