Politics & campaigning
Danny Wight is Co-convener of the East Lothian branch of the Scottish Green Party.
(CAEL is not politically affiliated and the views expressed are the author’s own).
Boring, complex…corrupting…but politics matter
Background
I first became involved in the green movement in my teens, over 40 years ago, inspired by a mix of writing on nature, warnings of environmental destruction (especially Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring), and the self-sufficiency movement. This was in part shaped by the 60s/70s hippy culture which also drew me to community activities, grassroots campaigns, local decision making, co-operative working, and a distrust of the alienating, corrupting dimensions of large scale, national institutions. I still believe in the value of community level activity and understand the rationale of the Transition Town movement, so when we moved to Tyninghame six years ago I was delighted to learn about the work of Sustaining Dunbar, and, subsequently, the East Linton Melting Pot (now Climate Action East Linton: CAEL).
However, over four decades I have shifted in my views on the role of government. I’m convinced that radical action is needed at every level – community, local, national and international - if there is any chance of avoiding climate catastrophe. Consequently I’ve been a member of the Scottish Green Party, which encourages community action but also seeks political representation at local and national levels, since 1998.
The need for action at government level
One way of illustrating the importance of government action is to consider the main ways in which people respond to the climate emergency. Three main groups can be identified: those who are entirely convinced about the climate emergency and are already taking individual action; those who are convinced but think that individual action on its own is pointless virtue-signaling unless population-wide; and finally, those who refute man-made climate change. With each group government action is essential.
Those who are acting individually to minimise their carbon footprint might argue that the only hope is to act immediately and not wait for government policy. Yet many, if not most, of the ways in which they reduce their environmental impact at grassroots level actually rely on government policy at the macro level. For instance, ethical consumerism requires certification schemes and accurate product labelling enforced by law. Most community action groups are supported by grant funding which comes from local or national government, such as the Climate Challenge Fund, which was one of the Scottish Green Party’s demands in return for qualified support to a minority SNP government. But most important, for individuals to adopt a low carbon lifestyle of their own volition requires appropriate infrastructure: good public transport, road and path networks safe for active travel, properly insulated homes, renewable energy capacity, etc.. For the most part, this can only be achieved through government action.
While the majority of the British population now recognise the climate emergency, only a minority of them have radically changed their lifestyles to minimise their carbon footprints. For the rest, many reasonably argue that there is no point in denying themselves a holiday flight, a fuel-greedy car, a high meat diet, etc., if the vast majority of the population carry on as normal. They will suffer with no significant benefit. Although they continue with their unsustainable consumption, this group consider government action to achieve macro level behaviour change necessary and legitimate.
The third group, which does not acknowledge man-made climate change, will clearly not change their behaviour of their own accord, unless, perhaps, they want to avoid social criticism. Government action is probably the most essential with this group.
In the last few decades nearly all the really substantial reductions in green house gas emissions have been achieved through government action. For example, phasing out coal-fired power stations, restricting domestic coal burning, banning high energy light bulbs, improving energy efficiency standards in housing and machinery, generating electricity through renewables, evening out demand on the national grid through differential pricing, and improving cycling infrastructure. Of course, much of this has been very late and inadequate, but it could only be achieved through action at local or national government level. One might argue that these policies resulted from public pressure at the community level or from single issue campaigns, but they nevertheless required government action. In short, single issue campaigning can only go so far: usually to the point where formal political activity has to take over. At the end of the day formal politics is the way in which society manages collective decision making, and since we are all in this together we have to act through politics to achieve the necessary changes.
Reasons to get involved in formal politics
most major decisions shaping society are made at government level: worth trying to influence them
if the general public do not get involved change is made in the interests of small, unrepresentative groups
nearly all changes necessary to tackle the climate emergency require government action
much grassroots activity is dependent on government funding
Reasons to get involved in grassroots activity
community engagement creates better intra-community understanding
this legitimises policies for a more equitable society
policies essential to address climate change are controversial and need community endorsement
many/most politicians follow public opinion; grass roots activity can shape their perception of it
grassroots campaigns are more meaningful
local decision making is better at reflecting local concerns
co-operative working is inspiring
Lack of engagement in formal politics
So, if government action is essential to tackle the climate emergency, why is it that far more people get engaged in single issue campaigns and non-party political environmental organisations rather than in political parties? The East Lothian branch of the Scottish Green Party has about 140 members of whom less than 10% are active on a regular basis. This is probably less activists than within CAEL, based on one small town.
There seem to be several reasons for a general lack of engagement in formal politics. Historically, the huge reduction in membership of political parties since the mid 20th Century is largely due to their reduced role in social life. In the past, working men’s clubs and trade union activities were a major part of working class social life, particularly for men, while Conservative or Liberal Party activities were a major part of middle class social life, particularly for women. This has almost entirely gone, largely due to changes in employment patterns, women’s greater independence, numerous alternative leisure activities and many more options to construct personal identities.
Less personal contact with party political organisations facilitates distrust of politicians. Many people have no idea that the vast majority of party political activists, in all parties, devote many evenings and weekends to tedious campaigning work without any expectation of personal reward, other than that of purposeful activity. Rather, it is assumed they are motivated by seeking personal power and a political career. Within each party a tiny minority of activists are elected to local government and an even tinier proportion to national government, generally bringing them a punishing work schedule for modest salaries (compared with equivalent professional roles). In the smaller parties those elected to paid jobs are often expected/required to contribute a substantial proportion of this salary to the party.
A more important cause of distrust of politicians is probably the mass media’s portrayal of their motives. This is highlighted in the satirical series The Thick of It in which they are almost all dishonest, self-serving or incompetent, or all three. A striking contrast is the Danish serial Borgen which illustrates the inevitable compromises a principled, progressive political leader has to make to achieve her goals. Cynicism is re-enforced through social media with increasingly toxic, aggressive and sometimes intimidatory political debate confirming entrenched viewpoints.
A further disincentive to involvement in formal politics is how time consuming it is for limited reward, especially if one supports a minority party. Campaigning to get a councillor elected for the first time in a local government ward can take an enormous amount of work over at least two election cycles, i.e. more than eight years. To get an MSP elected involves vastly more effort, even though we happily have a fair electoral system for Holyrood. And even if successful in getting a councillor or MSP elected, unless one is part of a large party they will be in a small opposition group with limited scope to shape policy.
Then at the simplest level, people don’t get involved in formal political activity because it is boring, especially in relation to the myriad leisure pursuits available to most people. For many it is too much like the work they want a break from, only not paid.
Consequences of disengagement with formal politics
There is a vicious cycle of non-involvement in politics reducing understanding of political processes which breeds cynicism and disengages the general public even further. This has severe consequences for our democracy. It makes the public less informed about the difficult compromises always necessary in politics, thus fuelling popularist beliefs, and it means the minority still involved in formal politics are increasingly unrepresentative. They are reduced to those who actually enjoy footslogging campaigning, fund raising, or the minutiae of detailed policy debate, or those who have burning political ambition or strong ideological commitment. The last group prompt the old caution: respect those who seek the truth, beware those who have found it. And the less representative politicians are, the more out of touch they are with public opinion. Both voting shocks of 2016 – Brexit and Trump – can be linked to these factors, and the sad demise of Labour in 2019 is in part due to the Corbynista activists having little grasp of the political perspectives of traditional Labour voters.
Reasons why people are not involved in formal politics
No longer a key way to socialise
Cynicism about formal politics: In the Thick of It vs Borgen
Frustration at long term effort for limited reward
Involves the complexity and compromises of tackling multiple social issues, rather than the simplicity of pursuing one single issue
Westminster electoral system stacked against smaller parties
Boring
What can be achieved
Despite the numerous barriers facing a small party like the Scottish Greens, we managed to get six MSPs elected in the last Holyrood parliament. This helped prevent the SNP achieving a majority which meant they were dependent on smaller parties to get their budgets and legislation approved, giving us a strong bargaining position. Consequently the Scottish Greens had a disproportionate impact, including the following achievements:
Social justice
a deal that made income tax fairer, with the majority of households paying less and those with higher incomes paying more
an additional £420m investment into local services across Scotland, compared with the proposed SNP budget, allowing Councils to continue funding swimming pools and museums, and avoiding additional charges
Empowering local government
secured commitments from the Scottish Government to:support a Green Local Self-Government Bill, which will give councils democratic guarantees normal across Europe
replace the unfair, outdated Council Tax with new draft legislatio
introduce legislation for local authorities to impose workplace parking levies and tourist taxes where appropriate
Transport
free bus travel for under 19 year olds, to be introduced in 2021
a £2 million Local Rail Development Fund to allow local community groups and local authorities to bid to reopen disused railway stations and lines in their local area
pressured the Government to scrap proposals to cut Air Departure Tax which would have benefited the rich most
Children’s wellbeing
Equal Protection Bill giving children the same legal protection from assault as adults
Environment
the prohibition of fracking in Scotland, largely as a result of Green MSPs and community activists campaigning together
funding for 4 new Marine Protected Areas and stopped proposals to dredge and destroy kelp beds
legislation to protect mountain hares
secured commitments from the Scottish Government to:
increase the proportion of Scotland’s infrastructure spending on low carbon projects every year, and reduce that on high carbon projects, such as airports and motorways
bring forward charges on disposable cups and increase the plastic bag charge to 10p
require that all Scottish fishing vessels are remote monitored to deter illegal fishing
More Green MSPs in the Scottish Parliament would make it more likely that the radical policies necessary to tackle the climate emergency and social inequalities might be introduced. This could work in two ways:
Either through the largest party needing the support of Green MSPs, or
Through the larger parties recognising electoral support for such policies and adopting them to prevent further loss of votes to the Greens.
At the last Holyrood election the Greens missed electing an MSP in South Region by 2,020 votes. If the many environmental activists in East Lothian campaigned for the Greens in the forthcoming election, we would have a very strong chance of getting Laura Moodie, our top list candidate, elected to Holyrood.
I am open to being persuaded otherwise, but I think that this would achieve far more in tackling the climate emergency than any activities at the local level, particularly at this stage in the electoral cycle.
Here are a few links to campaigning groups. If there are any useful ones that have been missed out, please get in touch!
LINKS
The Scottish Green Party - demand climate action
Friends of the Earth East Lothian
Plan B Earth - holding Governments to account for climate breakdown through legal action