Caroline Lucas elected as UK's first Green MP

10 May, 2010

Green Party leader wins 1,252 seat majority in Brighton Pavilion, promises vocal role in hung parliament

Caroline Lucas has been elected as the UK's first Green MP after winning the seat of Brighton Pavilion.

The Green Party Leader won a 1,252 seat majority over her closest rival, Labour's Nancy Platt, securing an 8.4 per cent swing in her favour.

"Thanks to the confidence that the voters of Brighton Pavilion have shown, Green principles and policies will now have a voice in Parliament," she said. " Policies such as responding to climate change with a million new 'green' jobs in low-carbon industries, fair pensions and care for older people, and stronger regulation of the banks will be heard in the House of Commons."

Lucas will now take a seat at Westminster in the first hung parliament in a generation and along with other minority parties could end up playing a key role in deciding which party forms the next government.

She told the BBC that a hung parliament will represent an "interesting" result, "both in terms of perhaps increasing our chances of getting a fairer electoral system, so that people's voices are properly heard. But also of course in giving the Greens that bit more influence."

She added that she would treat each vote on a "case-by-case basis".

The Greens fell short in one of their other target seats, Norwich South, although Adrian Ramsey secured a 7.5 per cent swing taking fourth place behind the Lib Dems, Labour and Conservatives with 7,095 votes. In Lewisham and Deptford, the Party's third target seat, Darren Johnson came in fourth with 6.7 per cent of the vote.

With about 33 seats still to declare, the Greens have so far secured 268,749 votes, representing one per cent of votes cast.

Green business leaders said yesterday that regardless of whether the election results in a Conservative minority government or a Lab-Lib coalition, they are expecting a series of low-carbon policies to feature in the first Queen's Speech of the new parliament.

Proposals for a new low-carbon infrastructure bank, green home loan scheme, a ban on unabated coal fired power stations and a new high-speed rail nework were supported by all three of the main parties and it is hoped that they will be pursued even if the final result is inconclusive.

Similarly, it seems highly unlikely that Labour will be able to push through plans for the expansion of Heathrow, given both the Conservatives and Lib Dems are opposed to the proposals.

However, the UK's nuclear energy policy could now face an uncertain period if the staunchly anti-nuclear Lib Dems end up wielding the balance of power in a hung parliament.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said this morning that he stood by his earlier view that the party with the most seats and votes should have the first opportunity to form a government, raising the prospects of a Conservative minority government.

James Murray, BusinessGreen, 07 May 2010