Don't Vote Green

Here's a new one on me - the scandal around MPs' expenses means we should vote Green*. No, really - this appears to be part of their campaign in the upcoming Euro-elections. Politically, it is a very interesting idea - and does make me wonder why the Greens have moved away from/added another plank to the single issue of environmentalism that has left them to such ferociously useless election results in the past.

I suspect the economy is the answer. Being environmentally friendly, for a lot of people, is something to do when you're feeling economically secure. And Green issues tend to be more prominent in national politics when the economy is doing well. The Greens do better when you can afford to worry about climate change and so on. If you are ever so inclined to worry about such things. 

It follows that the recession will have hit the Greens badly. Note the disappearance of the Green case from the rhetoric of our political leaders. Recently, all Brown, Cameron and Clegg (on the rare occasions when he has been bothered to open his gob) have been going on about the economy and, even more recently, have been trying to out do each other with apologies for the gross abuse of the expenses system. Climate change etc has vanished from their agendas. Because the voters care more about the economy, about taxation, and now about how much they are being fleeced by MPs through their "self-regulated" expenses system. 

So the way the Greens have launched their campaign is actually quite canny, particularly for a group of tree-huggers who normally work hard at detaching themselves from political reality. They are talking about the issue of the moment - expenses. And also talking about how their investment in green industries could create jobs.

Yet, voting Green is still a really, really dumb thing to do. They may be more trustworthy than the three main parties when it comes to expenses; I can't be bothered at the moment to do the research on just how much their existing MEPs have taken from the EU. But when you take a look at their page on Wikipedia (which their own site directs you to) you see some *interesting* policies:

Like many Green parties, the Green Party of England and Wales does not consider economic growth to be the only or the best indicator of progress, as it sees endless growth as incompatible with a planet of finite resources. It is against mass consumption and destructive consumer lifestyles and hopes to encourage an economy built on sustainability and long-term use.

For many people, struggling with recession and desperately hoping for more economic growth to help guarantee their job and ensure that their house maintains value, this must be more than a little wounding. And for those looking for a little more justice in the tax system, well, the Green Party definitely isn't the way to go:

On taxation, the Green Party believes in increasing the top rate of income tax to make the system more redistributive. It is in favour of a more progressive system of corporation tax to encourage small businesses over large corporations. It supports eco-taxes, such as those on packaging and carbon emissions, along the lines of the 'polluter pays' principle.

Old school Social Democracy - worthy of the old school Labour movement. As is this:

Also, the party wants an increase in trade union rights and the renationalisation of the railways and other public utilities.

So, the Green Party wants to increase taxes on the rich and on business, at the same as nationalising things. This all sounds a lot like Labour under Gordon Brown. Or the Labour Party under Michael Foot.

I'm mildly impressed that the Green Party have tried to grab the political moment and try to make the case for them being the real alternative to the main parties. Unfortunately, they aren't that different from the Labour Party of the 1980's and their policies reek of economic naivety. Anyone thinking about voting Green, well, I'd urge you not to. You're not voting for change. On so many levels, you'd be voting for a worse version of the status quo.

*As a heads up, voting for a party in the Euro-Elections will have zero impact on the expenses system. That is created by and regulated by MPs. in order to deal with that, we need a General Election. So on this level - as well as many others - the Green case is very, very weak.