The Central Issue of Our Time

From The Guardian's "Backbencher" column

Hang on a minute, say Green activists. What about our party conference? It's a fair point. The Greens are meeting in Liverpool between tomorrow and Sunday when a series of fringe debates will culminate in a major debate on the conference floor on the issue of the moment: leadership, the very topic the Ming-ites are keen to avoid.

The Greens too have traditionally avoided hierarchy and leaderism which they dislike. But they pay a price for having collective leadership and titles like "principle speaker": diminished political impact in an era which elevates leaders who come in handy on TV. Theirs is a hard conference to report on. Colleagues of the Backbencher's have tried.

Today Sir Jonathan Porritt, chairman of the government's big-tented sustainability commission, weighed in to join those backing the need for a leader, who include Darren Johnson, a London assembly member, and Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, who grandly calls it "the central issue of our time".

"If ever there was a time when the Green party needed a formally elected leader, it has to be now. The Green party's analysis and policy proposals are more relevant today than ever before, but with all the major parties seeking their share of the 'green mantle', the party urgently needs a clear, passionate and persuasive leader out there, doing the job in a way that both the public and the media can relate to much more easily than is the case today," he explains to slow learners.