Leadership Contest

Caroline Lucas has announced that she will be putting herself forward for election to be leader of the Green Party. I welcome this news. She is a talented, capable and inspirational politician. She was named Ethical Politician of the Year in 2007 by the Observer and has been our most recognisable national figure for the past nine years as the MEP for the South East.

I'll be backing Caroline's campaign. That doesn't mean that I agree with 100% of everything that Caroline will ever say or do, but it does mean that I can recognise that at this time in our party's development, the election of an articulate, inspirational person capable of challenging the three grey men in suits who run the other parties, will be a crucial moment in British politics.

Never have we as a party needed leadership or direction more than we do now. CO2 emissions are rising relentlessly, single issue and often dangerous far right political parties are on the rise, and British voters urgently need an alternative party that offers hope, not hate.

Prices are rising (with inflation officially at 3.8% but in reality much higher than that), with ordinary people feeling the pinch. Unemployment is rising and house prices are crashing. Oil will never be cheap again, and our politicians haven't done enough during the good times to prepare us for the tougher times we face.

Caroline Lucas can communicate with voters across the age ranges and across the political spectrum. I think that electing her as our leader will be a positive step forward for national politics and will shake up the complacency and soggy managerial approach that the other three parties take to national political issues.