THE fact that the Labour Party has, for some 20 years, been lacking in grassroots influence and has silenced the lovers of social justice and peace in the party is the cause of the problems surrounding the present leadership elections. The party top brass seems to have launched itself blind into this leadership battle.

I can’t believe that former leader Ed Miliband did not know what he was doing when he set up the new voting system before the general election and then walked off into the sunset.

In any event, the grassroots are certainly showing themselves now and their silencing by those who wish to retain power and influence in the party is starkly apparent.

In contrast, the organisational structure of the Green Party nationally has always been steeped in a democratic process that ensures that the party’s policies are determined by the views of the membership.

This is a torturous process but it is one that the Green Party is determined to continue with as it is the only way to ensure that the party continues to be what it wants to be.

Whoever said that democracy was easy to achieve?

Its popularity has been shown by the huge increase in Green Party membership recently, particularly among the young.

The policies espoused by the Green Party have a lot of resonance with those of the Labour Left. In the Labour Left there is not the emphasis on achieving a sustainable society to avoid catastrophic climate change or the vision of a million climate jobs to create new green jobs or a strong push to eliminate nuclear power/nuclear weapons but there is a desire for a more equal and fairer society where everyone participates and there is more that binds the Green Party to the Labour Left than divides them.

Joan West (via email)