As members of the Green Party gather in Brighton for their annual conference later this week, they’re likely to be feeling pretty pleased with themselves. They’ve had a good year by anyone’s standards, polling as the country’s fourth most popular party, and with membership tripling to over 200,000.

While the Greens may be pleased with the rise in their political fortunes, we need not worry there’s going to be a green coup any time soon

While the Greens may be pleased with the rise in their political fortunes, we need not worry there’s going to be a green coup any time soon

The party’s successes during his first year of leadership was the main theme of Zack Polanski’s speech at the Green Gathering this summer in Chepstow in Wales. The speakers’ tent at the long-established off-grid festival was overflowing and the atmosphere buzzing with anticipation. But, unlike most of those present, I was listening as a former supporter of the Green Party and my expectations were low.

Some context: I had voted Green a few times in the previous decade, part as a protest against the main options and part as an expression of concern for the planet. Then came Covid and I watched in alarm as veteran Green Caroline Lucas led calls for longer, harder lockdowns. Subsequently, the growing authoritarianism of the party expressed itself in calls for climate-based restrictions that would de-develop Britain and end the freedoms on which our liberal democracy depends.

I also noticed that when they actually got into power, the Greens seemed to lose the plot – or rather their humanity. As a would-be Bristol resident, I was horrified by the way the Green........

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