Letter: Green Party needs a political edge

Sir: Thank you at last for a fair piece on the Green Party (David Nicholson-Lord; 'Political winter descends on former success story', 16 September).

I was a founder member in 1973 because I realised that the role you describe, an 'electoral pressure group', was necessary before any party dare adopt a meaningful green programme.

But the emphasis is on electoral. This will only work if the others feel threatened by our poll ratings, and we must have all the features of a full political party, ready to take off whenever the electorate so choose.

We also need to gain publicity for our startling ideas and the reasons for them.

However, to do all this we need recruits from the likes of those you quote who say, from outside the Green Party, that 'there is a need for something major and new', 'a ginger group' or 'a Green political choice'.

The choice facing Robin Grove-White, Peter Wilkinson and Tom Burke, and thousands of others like them, is uncomfortable, but as long as they try to have it both ways, the Green Party will fail to deliver what they identify as needed.

Yours faithfully,

CLIVE LORD

Batley,

West Yorkshire

16 September