Last weekend saw over a thousand Green Party Members gather in Bournemouth for the Green Party’s Autumn Conference, with the Green Surge at the 2015 General Elections, the European refugee crisis and the international climate change conference in Paris, COP21, at the end of this year, being high on the agenda.

In light of the 2015 General Elections, much was said about how to continue the growth of the Green Party, in its membership and elected postions, the so-called ‘Green Surge’ in the spring saw the Green Party’s membership double to over 60,000.

Electoral reform and the case for proportional representation was championed, what with the Scottish National Party (SNP) winning 56 seats with over 1 million votes in May 2015 and the Green Party having to content themselves with 1 seat for its more than 1 million votes.

In all of the speeches by the leaders of the Party, much was said about the their hopes for a positive outcome at COP21 in November from world policy makers.

Many people agree that climate change is already happening and drastic action is needed to prevent irreversible damage to our home, the Greens reaffirmed.

Although the Greens have faith in COP21, they know that ultimate action against climate change is down to individuals and states, which is why they are disgusted by the Conservative plans for nuclear power and fracking in the UK, and their lack of support for the ever-growing UK renewable energy industry.

The Green Party extolled its welcome to refugees and its commitment to staying in the European Union. Donations for Conference were to be sent to Calais and fringes events explained the need to stay in the EU, despite serious reform also required.

With this being the biggest Green Party Conference to date, members went home engaged and enthused to continue the Green Party’s mandate of social and environmental justice.

Annie Pickering

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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