The Political Slot. Channel 4. 19.15. Wed. Nov.19th

MP of the year Caroline Lucas: 'If we had more MPs, just imagine what we could achieve'

18 November 2014

* Musician Brian May: ‘We need more’ MPs like Caroline Lucas

* Columnist Mark Steel: Caroline’s “brought politics into disrepute … she’s done all the things she promised to do!”

* Caroline Lucas: Greens’ positive policies offer people “hope not fear”

* Green Party membership up almost 90% in 2014

* Greens polling at highest numbers ahead of a General Election since 1989 

Ahead of the May 2015 General Election, Caroline Lucas, recently named MP of the year (1), has urged voters to help the Greens “deliver the change we all so badly need.” 

Appearing on Channel 4’s ‘Political Slot’, Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, acknowledges that people are “fed up with politics as usual” and reminds viewers that she, like all Greens standing next May, is not “tied to vested interests” and “free to stand up for you and what I believe in.” 

“If we had more MPs, just imagine what we could achieve”, says Caroline. “All of us committed to making this country a more equal society, putting the environment at the heart of politics, working towards real economic justice and offering people hope, not fear.” 

In the film, Queen musician Brian May and columnist Mark Steel speak of their respect for Caroline’s work over that past four years as an MP. 

Caroline Lucas “is exactly what you’d want an MP to be. She’s honest, truthful, always in pursuit of fairness, never motivated by self-interest. She’s a wonderful MP and we need more like her”, insists May. 

“I think Caroline Lucas has brought the whole business of politics into disrepute really,” says Steel, “because politicians are meant to do things like pledge to abolish things and then treble the thing they promised to abolish or take the country into war on premises that turn out to be completely untrue or claim expenses for various castle-related activities and stuff like that. Caroline, instead of that, she promised to campaign to defend the NHS and to campaign against Page Three and campaign against fracking and she’s done all of the things she’s promised to do, she even got arrested for it. She’s making a mockery of democracy.” 

The ‘Green surge’ has seen Green Party membership and polling sky-rocket in 2014. Membership stands at 25,799 and is up a striking 87% since 1st January 2014. The Greens have polled ahead of the Liberal Democrats on three occasions in the past month.

May and Steel appear alongside others including ‘No More Page Three’ campaigner Lucy-Anne Holmes and Kayla Ente of Brighton & Hove Energy Services in the three minute film, which will air on Channel 4 on Wednesday 19^th November at 19:15.

NOTES:

(1) Earlier this month, Caroline Lucas was named UK MP of the year. More than 90 MPs from across the country were nominated for the award, and the winners were selected by an independent panel of judges. http://greenparty.org.uk/news/2014/11/06/caroline-lucas-named-mp-of-the-year/