Green issues must be discussed now

With the forthcoming General Election only months away the headline at the moment is how David Cameron is somehow stifling the democratic process. In particular all we are hearing is how upset Labour, the Lib Dems , and now UKIP are as Cameron is refusing to approve a TV debate unless his terms are met, namely that the Green Party also attend . Much of the mainstream press seem to be kowtowing to the populist view that Cameron is running scared. There may be an element of truth in this but equally his conditions to attending the TV debate must be respected as they surely reflect a more representative democratic process. Furthermore what should be grabbing the headlines is why the Greens are being left out!

This decision stems from Ofcom’s decision  that the Greens are not a major party. Surely this must be contested.

This decision was made by Ofcom following their consultation, which looked at potential General Election support based on previous election results and future potential. As far as previous general elections are concerned it can be argued that the Greens have fallen well behind the 3 traditional parties, but that, of course applies to UKIP also. Surely what is more significant is the trend over the last few years. According to the YouGov Poll the Greens now have support from 8% of the voting population compared with a 1% figure back in 2010. More importantly they have overtaken the Lib Dems in the polls. They also secured a greater return in last year’s European Elections than the Liberal Democrats.  Arguably the Greens are almost making their biggest impression with the younger generation, an audience which is critical to the future support of our political system.

So whatever his particular motives are David Cameron is right in requesting that the Greens are included. Treating our environment with the care it deserves is just as important an issue as immigration control and our position in Europe and the statistics support this. This is a view also supported by the Guardian, Telegraph and You tube as well as a number of prominent figures in the political establishment.

Whatever the outcome the reluctance to include a growing green movement on the main debating floor only raises people’s awareness of the narrow view held by the mainstream parties and the failing political system that this represents.