Hoping for a new Green day
Brighton has the only Green MP in the country and that ’ s always felt nice . But is this time different ? Did we vote for Party or person ? Sian Berry tells Jed Novick the name has changed but the message is the same
W
e ’ re sitting in the Green Party HQ just by the station . There ’ s more people than spaces and where there aren ’ t people there are cardboard boxes , all spilling leaflets everywhere . Everyone smiles , says “ Hello ”, asks how I am .
“ Hi Jed , do you want a drink ?” says Matt , the man makes all this work . He gives me a glass of water , which suddenly feels a bit awkward because there ’ s nowhere to put the glass down . The atmosphere is vibrant , chaotic but exciting . It feels like a changing room just before the Cup Final . You can feel the positivity , the energy , there ’ s also a nervousness that comes partly from being the favourites but , to continue the already tenuous football analogy , the star striker who ’ s scored the goals that ’ s got them here has left . There ’ s a new striker , but ... Can she do it ?
The shadow of Caroline Lucas hangs heavy . It ’ s not a surprise . The Green Party and Caroline have been synonymous for as long as anyone can remember . She ’ s been the Green MP , the Green face . She ’ s one of the most recognisable faces in British politics , one of the few politicians that transcend politics . She grew a marginal with a 1,252 majority in 2010 to a 20,000 majority . And now she ’ s gone .
That must be a strange feeling , taking over from someone who ’ s an icon , a celebrity .
“ And she ’ s loved and rightly so . She ’ s my mentor as well . She ’ s always encouraged me throughout my career .” says Sian Berry , Caroline ’ s successor . “ And yeah , everyone is sorry to see her go , absolutely . I ’ m not thinking that I ’ m inheriting anything . I ’ m working for every single vote . I ’ m trying to meet as many people so they know me and they will vote for me . But what I ’ m finding is that people are sorry to see her go , but would be even sorrier to see her go and lose their Green voice . So people are very , very willing to back me , even though I ’ m newer to them than Caroline and remember Caroline was new to them once . She ’ s become this icon over 14 years .”
Sian talks like the Green office feels . Excited and full of “ let ’ s go ” energy . She doesn ’ t so much talk as watch as words cascade out of her mouth . So yes , excited and full of energy , but also ready . She ’ s been embedded in activist politics since the early 2000s , which is where she came on Caroline ’ s radar .
“ I ’ d been running a campaign , the Alliance against Urban Four by Fours . We campaigned outside the vegan shoe shop in the North Laine and did a stall where we were giving out these fake parking tickets which looked like Brighton Hove parking tickets , but said words like dirty and dangerous , and instead of a penalty charge notice , they would say poor vehicle choice , and then it would give information .” Were you those people who went around letting people ’ s tyres down ?
“ Oh , the tyre people . No , that ’ s not legal , whereas sticking a fake parking ticket under someone ’ s windscreen is actually legal , and it started a really useful debate in the media . We also had big policy asks , so we wanted the government to change things like vehicle tax , so that if you bought a bigger or heavier vehicle or a more polluting vehicle , you would pay more . And Gordon Brown did do that .”
Sian ’ s background was in marketing as a medical writer and so knew how to tell a story , “ but it was all paid for by big pharmaceutical companies , so I had to stop doing that ” and after the 4x4 campaign found herself campaign coordinator for the Greens . She ’ s stood for Parliament before - “ as a Green , you ’ re often asked to stand in unwinnable places , just to get the point across ” - the first time she was up against Glenda Jackson , the last time was in 2017 against , of all people , Keir Starmer .
Say you get elected . Can you do much as one Green MP ? Caroline ’ s personal fame allowed her a level of attention , but ... Not for the first time I feel Sian getting a little bored with the Caroline comparisons . And fair enough .
“ I ’ m really looking forward to getting the Green voice out , onto the national agenda . We deserve much more time debating with the other parties in the spotlight , because we have a legitimate point of view , and lots of people support it , and it ought to be heard .” You could be the new voice of Question Time . “ We deserve so many more slots on Question Time . I think if you add up every appearance a Green has ever made …”
You could change your name to Nigel . They ’ d never stop asking you .
What specifically for the good folk of Brighton Pavilion , does Sian offer ? “ I aim to be the best MP I can possibly be , and use Caroline ’ s work as an absolute model for that . I know how much from talking to people on the doorstep , I know how much they appreciate the excellent constituency work she ’ s done , the excellent casework . I ’ ve represented people for a long time , and that combination of listening to people ’ s problems and helping people overcome the system if they ’ re having trouble with bureaucracy , if they ’ ve been treated unfairly , and you can help unlock the path to putting in a complaint and getting it fixed .
“ The other job is to be a voice for the city and its concerns and values . I very much want to make the case for water companies to be brought into public hands , and you can see the other parties taking steps along the way now , because the water companies are just getting worse and worse . and it ’ s so much clearer that bringing them under the way of you know , hopefully a regional democratic control would be , would be absolutely brilliant , and we absolutely have to argue for that .
I ’ ve worked for years for a national charity campaigning for better transport . I love public transport . Let ’ s sort out the buses . Let ’ s get the trains working . You know , I have knowledge and how to influence that , and then housing , buying , not just building more council homes .”
Sian tells me about various schemes she ’ s worked on , from grants to upgrade their boilers , to councils buying houses and turning them into council houses . Real ideas that can make a real difference , and a little bit more positive than the incessant “ We ’ ll cut taxes ” rhetoric we ’ re hearing from the big parties .
Away from all this , what do you do when you ’ re not here ?
“ I ’ m been gardening a hell of a lot . It ’ s so nice . Honestly , we got a good garden . I ’ ve got a lovely patch that there ’ s previously been a fruit garden and looked after pretty organically . So I ’ m sticking I ’ m trying to grow as much food as possible , basically . During this period , the weeds are definitely going to have a bonanza and the slugs . But it ’ s , it ’ s , it ’ s so nice to at the end of the day , to just hang out there . And you know , it ’ s fantastic , isn ’ t it ?