Greens on verge of historic local council victory

By the small hours of Friday 10th September, a historic moment in British politics may have occurred. Because of the sudden ending of the unitary dream for Norwich a couple of months back, there are local elections this year on Thursday 9th September in Norwich.

Labour went into these elections with just a two seat advantage over the Greens. With the LibDems unlikely to flourish in these elections (given their depressed national poll ratings) and the Tories the 4th Party in Norwich, the Greens could potentially become the largest party on the Council even without gaining much from Labour.

And, obviously, the arithmetic is such that (say) just one Green gain from Labour, and one Green gain from the LibDems, if the Greens hold all their other seats and Labour do not gain elsewhere, would leave the Greens the largest Party, by the week’s ending.

If the Green Party do manage to equal or overtake Labour at these elections, and become the largest (or equal-largest) party on the Council, this would be an event without precedent in British politics, genuinely deserving the overly-used epithet, ‘historic’.

Of course, it wouldn’t necessarily result in a Green-run Council; as we saw in Westminster after this year’s General Election, what happened next would depend upon how the Parties interpreted and decided to react to the election results. But simply by virtue of becoming the largest Party on a Principal Authority Council for the first time ever, the Green Party would be sending a powerful message about the growing pluralism of British politics – and, obviously, about the continuing electoral flourishing of the Green Party.

The Green Party Conference this year begins on … Friday 10th September. An extraordinary coincidence which may work to the advantage of the party. Caroline Lucas gives her first ever Leader’s speech as the party’s (first ever) MP, at 1.40 that afternoon. What a bonus it would be for her if, as well as that historic distinction, a second one were to be added in by events in Norwich: she may be able to welcome to the Conference we Norwich Green Councillors who are part of the first ever Green Party Group to form a plurality on their Council.

The Green Party  with representation at last at Westminster and perhaps soon within striking distance of power on its own account in local government for the very first time, will certainly give the LibDem leadership and the Labour leadership contenders something to think about, at their upcoming Party Conferences.