Caroline Lucas

Caroline Lucas 
MP

Incumbent
Assumed office 
5 September 2008
Preceded by Position established
Member of Parliament
for Brighton Pavilion
Incumbent
Assumed office 
6 May 2010
Preceded by David Lepper
Majority 1,252 (2.4%)
Female Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales
In office
2007 – 5 September 2008
Preceded by Siân Berry
Succeeded by Position abolished
In office
2003–2006
Preceded by Margaret Wright
Succeeded by Siân Berry
Member of the European Parliament
for South East England
In office
14 June 1999 – 6 May 2010
Born 9 December 1960 (1960-12-09) (age 50)
Malvern, United Kingdom
Political party Green Party of England and Wales
Spouse(s) Richard Savage
Alma mater University of Exeter
University of Kansas
Religion None (Atheism)
Website Official website

Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician. Lucas is the Green Party's first Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. She was elected for the Brighton Pavilion constituency at the 2010 general election.[1][2]

Lucas is the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and formerly a Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region. Along with Jean Lambert she was one of two Green MEPs from the UK, a post she held from 1999 to 2010. As a result of the restrictions regarding dual mandates, she had to give up her seat in European Parliament to take up her seat in the House of Commons. Keith Taylor succeeded her in this position.[3]

She is noted for campaigning and writing on green economics, localisation, alternatives to globalisation, trade justice, animal welfare and food. In her time as a politician and activist, she has worked with numerous NGOs and think-tanks, including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Oxfam and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Contents

Early life

Lucas was born in Malvern in Worcestershire. Her father ran a small central heating company.[4]

Education

Lucas was born in Malvern, Worcestershire, and was educated at Malvern Girls' College (which became Malvern St James in 2006), an independent school in Great Malvern. She then went to the University of Exeter, where she gained a first-class BA (Hons) in English Literature, which she completed in 1983. Whilst there, she went on many trips to Greenham Common and Molesworth when involved with CND. She took a scholarship at the University of Kansas between 1983 and 1984 before doing a Diploma of Journalism in 1987. She earned her PhD from the University of Exeter in 1989 with a thesis entitled Writing for Women: a study of woman as reader in Elizabethan romance.[5]

Political career

Early activism

Lucas began her career as an activist in the anti-nuclear movement with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). She was heavily involved in the Snowball Campaign against US military bases in the UK.[6]

Green Party politician, MEP and MP

After joining the Green Party (UK) in 1986 (later renamed the Green Party of England and Wales), Lucas had stints as the party's National Press Officer (1987-89), Co-Chair (1989-90), General Election Speaker (1991-92) and Party Regional Council Member (1997-99). She would later hold the post of Female Principal Speaker from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 onwards.[5] Her first electoral success came when she won the Green Party's second council seat in the UK on Oxford City Council, which she held between 1993 and 1997.[6]

Lucas was first elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the South East England Region at the 1999 elections, the first year the election was by proportional representation. In that year the Green Party gained 7.4% of the vote (110,571 votes). She was re-elected in 2004, gaining 173,351 votes (7.9% share), and again in the 2009 election when the party's vote under the list system rose to 271,506, or 11.6%.[7] In the European Parliament, she is or has been a member of the Committee for Trade, Industry, Energy and Research; the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy;[6] the Committee on International Trade; and the Temporary Committee on Climate Change.[5] In addition, she is or has been Vice-President of the Animal Welfare Intergroup, a member of Intergroups on Peace Issues and Consumer Affairs, a member of the Parliament's Delegation to ACP (African Caribbean, and Pacific) Countries,[6] and a member of the Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council.[5] As part of her committee work, she was the Parliament's Rapporteur (draftsperson) on a Commission Communication on the impact of air transport on the environment, and the Vice-President of the parliament's committee of inquiry into foot and mouth disease.[6]

Brighton Pavilion had seen the highest vote to date for a Green Party candidate when Keith Taylor, a former Green Party Principal Speaker, won 22% of the vote in the 2005 general election. In 2007, Lucas declared her intention to stand for the Green Party's nomination for the prospective parliamentary candidate in the Brighton Pavilion constituency for the next general election. In a letter to party members, Lucas made it clear that she would only stand if she won the internal party selection election by more than 10%, to avoid internal division. She described the move as "the most difficult decision of my life", due to "personal and family commitments" but also her "loyalty and commitment to Keith Taylor, who is a person and a politician for whom I have great admiration and respect".[8] On 18 July 2007, it was announced that Lucas had been selected by the Brighton Green Party. Lucas won with 55% of the party ballot against Keith Taylor's 45%.[2] Lucas was elected as the Green Party's first-ever MP in the general election of 2010. However, she is not the first Green Candidate to be elected under a first-past-the-post electoral system, as this was Jeanette Fitzsimons of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in the Coromandel Electorate in 1999.

Caroline Lucas speaking about the Green New Deal in Oxford, in 2009

In July 2008, Lucas joined the Green New Deal Group, an alliance of experts in finance, energy and the environment. The group put forward plans to invest in green energy, provide greater regulation of the finance sector, and strengthen ties between environmentalists, industry, agriculture, and trade unions. The proposals were put forth in response to fears over the recession, climate change, and increasing energy prices, and stressed the need for integrative policies towards tackling all three.[9]

In July 2010, Lucas expressed her support for seven acquitted campaigners of the Smash EDO campaign who caused £180,000 damage to an EDO MGM arms factory under the lawful excuse defence because the company manufactured and sold certain components used by the Israeli military. Lucas stated that: "I am absolutely delighted the jury has recognised that the actions of the decommissioners were a legitimate response to the atrocities being committed in Gaza. I do not advocate non-violent direct action lightly ... [but] their actions were driven by the responsibility to prevent further suffering in Gaza." [10]

Non-political career

As well as her party political activities, Lucas has worked extensively with developmental NGO Oxfam as Press Officer (1989–91), Asia Desk Communications Officer (1991–94), Policy Adviser on Trade and the Environment (1994–97) and Team Leader for Trade and Investment (1998–99).

Green Party leadership

Lucas was a candidate in the Green Party of England and Wales leadership election, 2008. On 5 September she was elected as the party's first ever leader. Lucas won 92.4% of the vote (standing against one other candidate, Ashley Gunstock), with a turnout of 37.9%.

Non-party activism and advisory roles

Currently, she is vice-president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Stop the War Coalition. She has been an Advisory Board Member to the International Forum on Globalisation, the Centre for a Social Europe[5] and the Protect the Local, Globally think-tank.[3] She has been a Trustee of the Radiation Research Trust and Patron of the Joliba Trust (Africa). She is Matron of the Women's Environmental Network. Furthermore, between 1997 and 1998, she was called upon as a Policy Adviser on Trade and Investment for the UK government's Department for International Development.[5]

Awards

In her time as a politician and activist, Lucas has won the Michael Kay Award "for her outstanding contribution to European animal welfare" from the RSPCA.[11] She was named in the Top 10 of the New Statesman Magazine Person of the Year Award 2006, which was voted for by New Statesman readers, alongside varied personalities including Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of the civil liberties NGO Liberty. This was considered surprising because many of the other members of the Top 10, including 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, had been nominated and profiled by prominent writers in the magazine in the weeks before the vote.[12]

Lucas has won the award for Politician of the Year in The Observer Newspaper Ethical Awards three times. The award is voted for by Observer readers, who chose her to win in 2007, 2009 and 2010. In 2007 she had been shortlisted alongside Gordon Brown and David Cameron.[13][14][15] In April 2010 Lucas won Best UK Politician in The Independent Green Awards.[16]

In July 2007, Lucas came in eighth place in the New Consumer Magazine Top 100 Ethical Heroes list, behind a number of celebrities including fashion designer Katharine Hamnett (who came 1st), Anita Roddick (The Body Shop founder), Al Gore (former US Vice-President who is now a campaigner for action on climate change) and Jonathon Porritt, a former Green Party politician. The list was designed to recognise people who "made the biggest contribution to ethical consumption over the last five years". According to New Consumer magazine, "if you had to trust one person with changing the world you could do worse than rely on Lucas".[17] During the same month, BBC Wildlife magazine named her in their Top 50 Conservationists, which was topped by Prince Charles.[18]

In October 2008 Lucas was winner in the Trade category of The Parliament magazine MEP Awards 2008.[19] The awards are voted for by MEPs and NGOs.

Author

Lucas has become a prolific writer of reports, articles and books on the subjects of trade justice, localisation, globalisation, animal welfare and food, in which she is critical of free trade, a Single European Currency, trade-led developmental policies, genetically-modified (GM) food and a lack of attention to environmental and social issues.[3] Her most notable work is Green Alternatives to Globalisation: A Manifesto (co-authored with Mike Woodin), which advocates localisation of economies based on minimal trade and greater social and environmental concern, in opposition to neo-liberal, market-led forces of globalisation.[20]

Bibliography

Caroline Lucas keynote speech at the autumn conference of the Green Party of England and Wales with Councillor Rupert Read looking on, Hove, 2006-09-23

Personal life

She married Richard Savage in July 1991 in Oxford. They have two sons. She had a house at Stonesfield, between Charlbury and Woodstock, for five years. [21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Harris, John (8 February 2010). "Could Brighton Pavilion elect Britain's first Green MP?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/08/brighton-green-mp-caroline-lucas. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Greens Pick MEP Lucas to Run for MP, Brighton Argus, 18 July 2007
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dr Caroline Lucas MEP's Biography on her own website
  4. ↑ "Green Shift". Thirdwaymagazine.co.uk. 2005-02-04. http://www.thirdwaymagazine.co.uk/editions/archive/high-profile/green-shift.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-07. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Dr. Caroline Lucas MEP, in the European Parliament.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, Green Party of England and Wales
  7. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2004/euro_uk/html/35.stm, BBC News
  8. ↑ "Greens battle to be the first MP", The Argus, Brighton, 14 June 2007
  9. ↑ "UK needs a 'Green New Deal'". 2008-07-20. http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news-archive/3493.html. Retrieved 2009-01-04. 
  10. ↑ van der Zee, Bibi; Evans, Rob (July 2, 2010). "Brighton MP declares support for acquitted Gaza campaigners". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/02/brighton-mp-support-gaza-campaigners. Retrieved July 3, 2010. 
  11. ↑ RSPCA Presents Lucas With ‘Michael Kay’ Award For Animal Welfare Work, Caroline Lucas's website, 27 June 2006
  12. ↑ Person of the Year: NS Readers' Choice, New Statesman, 18 December 2006
  13. ↑ Who cares wins..., The Guardian
  14. ↑ The Observer Ethical Awards 2009, The Guardian
  15. ↑ Observer Ethical Awards: Caroline Lucas, Ethical Politician Award, The Guardian
  16. ↑ The Green Awards: Our experts celebrate those doing most to protect our fragile environment, The Independent
  17. ↑ Top 100 Ethical Heroes, New Consumer
  18. ↑ Caroline Lucas named in top 50 conservationists and top 100 people to have contributed to ethical consumption, Green Party of England and Wales
  19. ↑ MEP Awards 2008 Winners
  20. ↑ Lucas, C. P., Woodin, M., Green Alternatives to Globalisation, 2004
  21. ↑ "Oxford Mail". Oxford Mail. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/archive/2000/03/01/Oxfordshire+Archive/6633424.A_schedule_to_tire_the_hardiest_commuter/. Retrieved 2010-05-07. 

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by
Margaret Wright		 Female Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales
2003–2006		 Succeeded by
Siân Berry
Preceded by
Siân Berry		 Female Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales
2007–2008		 Position abolished
New office Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
2008–present		 Incumbent
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
David Lepper		 Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion
2010–present		 Incumbent
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