Organising for Democracy

The Green Party is at a pivotal moment in its history. At nearly a quarter of a million members – driven in large part by a huge surge in new members on the left – the Green Party has the potential to be an ecosocialist political force. But only if we build a democracy that can rise to the potential of this moment.

There are many good things about the Green Party system. This is a party that has the courage to think beyond the horizons set by the political establishment, and commits to the changes its members want to see. Without that courage, we don’t have a hope of achieving the radical change we need in society.

But our current structures give too much airtime to things that don’t matter, and not enough to the things that do. We have all sat through conversations that go nowhere and votes where no-one seems to know what’s happening or care about the outcome. Our systems are creaking under the strain of so much additional load. It doesn’t have to be this way – we can create a party where the democratic process consistently gives our movement momentum and a clear direction.

Some senior figures have taken a sudden interest in internal democracy over the last month, and not all for the right reasons. Any changes must serve the purpose of building a mass, ecosocialist party – not a reaction to any one policy.

The party leadership has formed a Working Group to develop a democratic reform motion that will be brought to Spring Conference. As GO we will scrutinise the newly formed Working Group and its proposals – this conversation is long overdue, and we should not leave it to them to decide.

While comrades have been working to steer this democratic reform in the party for years, this moment is an opportunity to re-orient the conversation around what would make our party’s democratic process genuinely deliberative, and effective for a party of our size and ambition.

We want to hear from you

Over the next few months, GO will be building our own approach to democratic reform, one that centres member democracy, comradely debate, momentum and radical ambition.

As members, leaders and organisers on the left, now is our moment to build a party that is more democratic and more capable of realising our radical political vision.

Our approach

We are backing a model motion, written by ordinary GO members after Autumn Conference, for local parties to discuss, support and adopt. These are a series of procedural suggestions for the Standing Orders Committee and Conference Committee, which taken together could significantly improve the effectiveness of Conference.
We are soliciting more detailed proposals from GO members on how – and if! – the Green Party’s internal democratic processes should be reformed.
GO’s team will review these proposals and build an engagement programme for motion development and refinement.
GO’s membership will then vote on whether this motion is taken to Spring (or Autumn) Conference in 2027.

How you can get involved

We want to hear from all comrades who have an idea for democratic reform in the Green Party. Please fill out the form below! We will be accepting proposals until 11pm on Wednesday 18th of November.

Your idea/proposal could help answer:

How do we ensure our policy process is able to produce a coherent programme for ecosocialist transition?
How could we make decision-making processes more deliberative, effective and reactive – both in between and at Conferences?
Who should go to Conference, who should get to vote (and how), and what should they vote on?
Should elected representatives be mandated to act in line with policy, or be more accountable to members between selections?
How should the manifesto for the next General Election be developed and agreed?