What are the Green party's policies?

It’s a watershed moment in British politics; Green party membership has officially overtaken that of the Liberal Democrats. After years of being marginalised as tree-huggers, has the time finally arrived for the Greens to be seen as a serious political force? We take a quick look at their international policies.

What do the Green Party want?

In a nutshell, to save Mother Nature from the evil designs of mankind. But now that they have more members than one sixth of the current government, it may be useful to look a little deeper.

The fight against climate change is a priority, as is protecting the environment and the world’s natural ecologies. No surprises there then. But there is also concern for the “survival of the human species”.

Political representation and democratic participation play a part in this, with localisation being the buzzword both in terms of wanting decentralised political structures and the restructuring of the global economy to localise trade and economies. Challenging global repression is also on the hit list.

Who is the enemy?

Now that we know human beings are not the accursed entity, who exactly do the Greens aim to defeat?

Big is the word here. They want an end to “Big Government”, which they see as hindering open and transparent democracy that comes in the form of localised power structures and greater representation. Power to the people, then. And they want to curb “Big Business” which, they argue, upholds the unsustainable trend of globalisation and is detrimental to local trade and economies.

How do the Green Party aim to achieve their goals?

They want to encourage people to work together. No, not in the manner of Soviet-style collectivisation. Co-operation is essential with control of economies staying at a local level under democratic oversight. However, they do acknowledge that power can be ceded upwards when necessary.

How do they want to reform international governance?

There is a recognition that the shift from consumerism to sustainability is not achievable in the short term. Partial reforms are therefore the current raison d’etre of the party’s brains trust.

They want more democracy, and specifically more accountability in global governance with the UN made up of elected representatives and more regional representation as opposed to the current nation-based setup.

They want democratic control of the global economy with the World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Bank – and similar bodies – reformed, democratised or even replaced.

They want to prioritise social and environmental sustainability as a global policy.

In the race for third place, are the Greens the opposite of Ukip?

On most things, yes. But surprisingly they share concerns when it comes to the EU and sovereignty.

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The Greens believe that the powers of the EU should be curtailed and decentralised to appropriate levels with national and international institutions localised.

Basically, where Ukip want no EU, the Greens want a smaller and less powerful EU, and where Ukip call for British laws for British people, the Greens would go a step further with Brighton laws for Brighton’s people – or something to that extent.

What are the Green’s foreign policy aims?

This is where it is legitimate to use the term radical. Apart from the aforementioned, the Greens have four essential policies on the international stage.

Indigenous peoples: They want respect for the rights of native folk and the granting of autonomy over their own destinies. Furthermore they support the granting of compensation and justice for historical wrongs, and that the reappropriation of lands and resources should also take place. The Greens would no doubt be the party of choice among the Native Americans, Africans and even those in Argentina (Falklands).

Debt: The cancelling of international debt should take place immediately and any financial assistance should be in the form of grants and not loans. The World Bank may have something to say about this, but if the Greens ever got into power developing countries could look forward to limiting debt service payments to 10% of export earnings per year.

Trade: This is a detailed area of the Green’s policy objectives. Put simply, however, the environmental and social welfare should trump financial gain when it comes to regulating trade; a less bully boy culture from the rich West and more self sustainability in terms of food and energy policy on a global level.

Aid: A longer term goal which would mean that aid is only given as a last resort in emergencies to prevent countries being indebted to their donors in any way.

Overall it’s fair to say that the Greens would like to see an end to Western global hegemony.

Are they totally against international conventions? Not quite. Basic unifying rights which protect civil and political rights and provide basic conditions of subsistence and dignity are very much Green territory. They’re also not averse to the existing principle of extra-territoriality (e.g. jurisdiction over cases of child trafficking abroad).

Israel - Palestine: Human rights and security for both the Israelis and the Palestinians are the order of the day.

So the Greens are like most sensible people in this respect.

You can read more about the Green Party’s policies here.

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