Green Party to purge rebel Ecos

First Edition

THE beleaguered Green Party faces a further round of in-fighting with the formation of yet another breakaway grouping which threatens to turn itself into a rival political party, writes David Nicholson-Lord.

The Campaign for Political Ecology, known as Eco, has been launched by disenchanted party members after the demise of Green Realignment, a splinter movement supported by leading green luminaries including Jonathon Porritt and Sara Parkin. The Green Party is now considering a 'purge' of members who belong to Eco.

Judy Maciejowska, a former co-chair of the Green Party who resigned in 1992 and now chairs Eco, last week described this proposal as McCarthyite. 'I think it is sad,' she said. 'The people behind this were the ones who held us back after the 1989 Euro-elections, when we won 15per cent of the vote, and they are still doing it. They are wasting their time: they should be building up for elections.'

Documents from a Green Party executive last week refer to the party's decision to draw back from disciplinary action against members involved last year in Green Realignment and say that suspensions or expulsions 'at this stage would be divisive, time-wasting and probably counter-productive'.

They add, however: 'Action must be taken now to counter the corrosive effect on the Green Party of this disaffected splinter group.'

The party must make clear that membership of Eco is not compatible with 'honest participation in the Green Party'.