Thursday 29 April 2010

GREEN IS THE COLOUR - CAROLINE LUCAS IS THE NAME

Those that know me well will be aware that my lifestyle cannot be described as representative of a truly Green philosophy. I am something of a petrolhead,  I travel regularly by air on business and cannot declare myself to be a great lover of public transport. But I try to make my contribution to the environment.I recycle as much as possible, I turn down the central heating by that extra degree - and having recently purchased a meter to calculate my kilowatt usage from moment to moment - you will find me running from room to room, turning off lights at every opportunity. However it would be hypocritical of me to declare myself a completely friendly resident of planet Earth. 
My interest in the Green Party started when my aunt put herself forward to stand as the Green Party candidate in Brighton Hove some years ago. She stood at a time that the Greens were mentioned in the same breath as CND and before the ecological crisis was even a twinkle in the government’s eye. Despite the attention being garnered by Green Politicians at European level and within other European parliaments, the UK still regarded the Green Party as a bunch of bear swilling, sandal wearing bearded eco-warriors. It was also apparent that funding was non existent, and the chance of any Green candidate retaining their deposit at a General election (currently £500 and at risk unless you gain at least 5% of the vote) was minimal.
Now the times and the agenda have changed. Enter Caroline Lucas. The leader of the Green Party, the current MEP for the South East and now fighting hard to win her seat in Westminster representing Brighton Pavilion. She’s a smart, intelligent and very able woman - who understands just what it is going to take to make the Green Party electable. If there is such a thing as perfect politician, then Caroline embodies it. Named Politician of the Year 2007 in The Observer Newspaper Ethical Awards, she is the complete antithesis of the moat digging, wisteria trimming greedy MP’s that this election will readily see the back of.  Principled and sharp as a tack - she not only publicises the Green policies effectively and concisely, she truly understands them and their implications too, having written and published papers on a wide variety of environmental subjects. The reality of the situation is that Caroline would be on the front bench of any of the main parties, she would be viewed as a valuable addition to any cabinet - but she has chosen to follow her very deeply held convictions and pursue the less well trodden path.
Some 6 weeks ago - I spent a day filming with Caroline Lucas. The results are now being shown on YouTube (URL’s follow at the bottom of this article).  It’s a relationship that goes back several years. In fact my work with the Green Party predates Caroline, when I was introduced to the previous Brighton Pavilion contender for the Greens - Keith Taylor.
Before the 2005 elections I made a handful of 60 second films with Keith. It was clear to me that many prospective politicians found it hard to get an electorate to even recognise them, let alone understand what they represented. Keith wasn’t able to make enough impact to get himself elected simply by canvassing face to face, he needed to be able to get his message across even when he couldn’t be there in person. It was Noel Coward who once said that “Television was really for appearing on and not for watching.” It’s probably more true now than when he said it 50 years ago - and if mainstream TV won’t offer you a platform - the internet will. The advent of sites such as YouTube on the Net means that reaching voters using video is now very simple.  The original films covered several subjects which were at the forefront of the last election, from the War in Iraq to the attempts by Labour and Conservative parties to bolt on green issues to their manifestos once they had realised that global warming was a reality and of due concern to the public.
When the party chose Caroline Lucas to be their first official leader, and subsequently asked her to stand for Brighton Pavilion two years ago, we repeated the sort of short films that we had done with Keith. Now with a real opportunity to become Britain’s first Green MP, we decided that it was time to create some new promotional videos. After discussion with Tracy Dighton, the Green Party’s communications officer, I suggested that perhaps we should show the personal side of Caroline. As Gordon’s huge faux pas on Wednesday revealed, it’s rare to find a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) politician - and Caroline is just that. “How about filming some interviews with the team that work alongside her day in day out?” I asked. “Fantastic” came the reply. Can you seriously imagine Cameron or Brown’s aides offering free rein to a journalist and a camera to ask what they wish about their employer? Although, right now, Sue Nye’s views (the aide that Gordon Brown blamed for letting Gillian Duffy loose on him) would be well worth hearing.
Nick Clegg’s dramatic and very capable appearance in the first UK televised political debates has ably demonstrated that if you give the minority parties equal airtime to the incumbents, then the field is thrown wide open. Those that felt that voting for a minority was a wasted vote were suddenly encouraged to look at the two party system, so deeply entrenched in this country’s political history, in a very different way. Knowing that this option would not be afforded to the Green Party, Caroline has opened her personal thoughts up on camera and shows that you can be genuine and aspire to political success at the same time.
I think the results speak for themselves. Here is someone willing to stand up for what she believes in, with the experience of local government, European government and the only woman to lead a national political party. What isn’t to like? Caroline knows that if you look past the colour of the party you will find a manifesto that does and always has covered every aspect of government from pensions to the health service, education and immigration. In her quieter moments she wishes that perhaps the party name could be changed to “People”. Including Green in your title may indicate the basis of your beliefs, but it doesn’t give you much room to manoeuvre when voters won’t spend time getting to know you and what you stand for.
These films were made to give you a chance to get to know Caroline better. They were not paid for, I gave my time - and such film making skills as I possess  - for free. Nor are they intended to establish any political bias on my part - they weren’t even made to persuade you that you should vote Green, but more that you should definitely vote Caroline Lucas. Westminster desperately needs her intelligence, her experience and her presence, and the planet needs a real voice in the Mother of Parliaments.

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