We can’t just offer scorn to people who are concerned about the environment

My comrade Luke launched a coruscating attack on the Greens in a recent LabourList article. He is correct in that we need to fight them toe to toe in the forthcoming General Election. It is not so much that they pose a threat to us at the election, but they may benefit from the collapse of the Lib Dem vote in some parts of the country. And potentially (as Luke points out) that they could split the left of centre vote in seats like Norwich North and so deprive excellent candidates like Jessica Asato of victory.

However, he should keep his scorn for the leadership, rather than the thousands of ordinary left-of-centre folk who are attracted to progressive policies on the environment, animal husbandry and climate change. North East London, for instance, has had a strong current that is concerned about “green” issues since the nineteen eighties. Many of these people are actually Labour voters, others will (unfortunately) vote Green at a Council level but happily vote Labour at the General Election, and only a tiny group will vote Green come what may. Their views on environmental issues deserve respect; pouring withering scorn on them will not help. Part of the Labour offer, to voters who are tempted to vote Green, should be to point out the improving environmental record of Labour councils like Hackney. And Ed Miliband himself in his role as Secretary of State for Climate Change did as much as any Westminster politician to advance green issues.

The truth is that many young activists are more interested in environmental issues than mainstream politics. We should not be pushing that youthful energy and idealism away. Green issues are not just the exclusive preserve of middle class activists. I have tried to persuade Greenpeace and other groups that there is a potential reservoir of support for them amongst BME communities. It is people who originate from the Caribbean Islands, Bangladesh and other low lying third world territories whose countries of origin are most at risk from Climate Change and rising seawater. Earlier this year I held a meeting at the House of Commons about the effect of Climate Change on the Caribbean. It was packed with ordinary members of London’s black community. It is work that I intend to return to after the General Election.

It is surprising that people (not Luke, I hasten to add) who are so anxious to conciliate UKIP activists are so dismissive of their Green counterparts. I have had lively debates with Green activists online and on Twitter. But I have never experienced from Green supporters the visceral racist abuse that I get daily from people who describe themselves as UKIP supporters. And Jenny Jones the Green GLA member has made a much worthwhile contribution to the London Assembly than any Tory.

So, of course, we should give no quarter to Greens at election time, not least because their record running Brighton has been pretty disastrous. But, between elections, it is demonstrable that many of their supporters share our values and are people that we should be prepared to campaign with on specific issues. We seem to be moving into an era where the old electoral certainties are shattering. It could even be the dawn of an era of multi-party politics. So we have to be able to offer ordinary people who are concerned about the environment, more than scorn.

Diane Abbott is the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington