Caroline Lucas

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Caroline Lucas
MP
Caroline Lucas 2010.jpg
Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
In office
5 September 2008 – 5 September 2012
Deputy Adrian Ramsay
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Natalie Bennett
Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales
In office
30 November 2007 – 5 September 2008
Preceded by Siân Berry
Succeeded by Position abolished
In office
2003 – 24 November 2006
Preceded by Margaret Wright
Succeeded by Siân Berry
Member of Parliament
for Brighton Pavilion
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by David Lepper
Majority 7,967 (14.6%)
Member of the European Parliament
for South East England
In office
14 June 1999 – 6 May 2010
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by Keith Taylor
Personal details
Born (1960-12-09) 9 December 1960 (age 63)
Malvern, Worcestershire, England
Political party Green Party UK (1986–1990)
Green Party of England and Wales (1990–present)
Spouse(s) Richard Savage
Children 2
Alma mater University of Exeter
University of Kansas
Website Official website

Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a English politician and member of the Green Party of England and Wales who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election, when she became the UK's first Green Party MP. She was re-elected in the 2015 general election with an increased majority.

Born in Malvern in Worcestershire, Lucas graduated from the University of Exeter and the University of Kansas before receiving a PhD from the University of Exeter in 1989. She joined the Green Party in 1986 and held various party roles, also serving on Oxfordshire County Council from 1993 to 1997. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009,[1][2] also serving as the Party's Female Principal Speaker from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2008.

Lucas was elected the first Leader of the Green Party in 2008 and was elected to represent the constituency of Brighton Pavilion in the 2010 general election. She stood down as Leader of the Green Party in 2012 to devote more time to her parliamentary duties and focus on an ultimately successful campaign to be re-elected.

She is known as a campaigner and writer 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 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and think-tanks, including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Oxfam.

Early life and career

Lucas was born in Malvern in Worcestershire, to middle-class, Conservative parents[3] Peter and Valerie Lucas.[4] She is one of three children; her father ran a small central heating company, and sold solar panelling.[5][6]

Lucas 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, graduating in 1983.[3][7] While there, she went on many trips to Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp and Molesworth peace camp when involved with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Lucas was an activist in CND and was involved in the Snowball Campaign against US military bases in the UK which involved the cutting of fences with the expectation of being arrested.[8]

She won a scholarship at the University of Kansas between 1983 and 1984, then gained a Diploma of Journalism,[5] before studying a PhD in English from the University of Exeter (awarded 1990)[9] with a thesis entitled Writing for Women: a study of woman as reader in Elizabethan romance.[10] After her doctorate, Lucas worked as a press officer for Oxfam from 1989.[6] She then worked as Asia Desk Communications Officer (1991–94), Policy Adviser on Trade and the Environment (1994–97) and Team Leader for Trade and Investment (1998–99).[citation needed] She left Oxfam in 1999.[6]

Early political career

After being "utterly inspired" by Jonathon Porritt's book Seeing Green, Lucas joined the Green Party in 1986. She recalled in 2007: "I thought, right! I'm going there now" to the Green's main office on Clapham High Street, near where she lived. "I'm just going to dedicate the rest of my life to this party".[8] Soon afterwards she became the party's National Press Officer (1987–89) and Co-Chair (1989–90).[11] When the Green Party became three separate parties in 1990 for the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, she joined the Green Party of England and Wales. Lucas served as their General Election Speaker from 1991 (for the following year's general election) and a Regional Council Member from 1997.[12]

Lucas's first success in an election came when she gained the Green Party's second council seat in the UK on Oxfordshire County Council, which she held between 1993 and 1997.[13]

Green Party MEP

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 (8% share), and again in the 2009 election when the party's vote under the list system rose to 271,506, or 11.6%.[14] In the European Parliament, she was a member of the Committee for Trade, Industry, Energy and Research; the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy;[13] the Committee on International Trade; and the Temporary Committee on Climate Change.[10]

Lucas was an early signatory of the International Simultaneous Policy (SIMPOL) which seeks to end the usual deadlock in tackling global issues. Lucas became a signatory in June 2004.[15] 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,[13] and a member of the Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council.[10] 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.[13]

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.[16]

She held the party's post of Female Principal Speaker from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2008.[10]

Green Party Leader

Lucas was elected as the Green Party's first leader on 5 September 2008, gaining 92% of the vote (against one other candidate, Ashley Gunstock) on a turnout of 38%. Lucas was elected as the Green Party's first-ever MP in the general election of 2010, winning 31.3% of the vote.

In July 2010, Lucas expressed her support for seven campaigners of the Smash EDO campaign who had caused approximately £180,000 damage to an EDO MBM arms factory and were acquitted of conspiring to cause criminal damage. The jury accepted their defence of lawful excuse – action undertaken to prevent a much worse crime – because the company manufactured and sold certain components used by the Israeli military, notably in its assault on Gaza. 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."[17]

On 14 May 2012, Lucas announced she would be standing down as leader as of September 2012 "in order to broaden opportunities for the range of talent in the party and to raise the profiles of others aspiring to election". She added "I'm proud that during the four years of my term, we've moved Green politics forward to a higher level, with the party by far the most influential it has ever been".[18]

Brighton Pavilion

Brighton Pavilion had the highest vote in the 2005 general election for a Green Party candidate when Keith Taylor, a former Green Party Principal Speaker, gained 22% of the vote. 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".[19] 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 opposed the presentation of bare breasted models on page 3 in The Sun and in 2013 was reprimanded for transgressing the Westminster dress code by wearing a T-shirt with the logo "No More Page Three" to protest against the feature during a Commons debate.[20]

On 19 August 2013, Lucas was arrested at a nonviolent protest against Cuadrilla Resources fracking operations in Sussex.[21] She was subsequently charged with obstructing a public highway but was found not guilty on 17 April 2014 at Brighton Magistrates' Court. After the hearing, Lucas said: "This judgement is right but this is not a victory or cause for celebration. We will continue to campaign to end fracking and only celebrate when our world is on the path to a clean energy future".[22]

In the 2015 UK general election, Lucas was re-elected with a majority of 7,967.[23]

Other roles and writings

Lucas is vice-president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)[24] and has been on the National Council of CND since 2004.[25] She is also Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil and Gas.[26] A former vice-president of the Stop the War Coalition, she resigned from the post in December 2015.[27] According to a statement from Lucas's office, her "busy parliamentary and constituency schedule means that she doesn’t have time to fully engage with the role of a patron and, in light of some recent StWC positions that she didn’t support, she felt standing down was the responsible thing to do".[28]

She has been an Advisory Board Member to the International Forum on Globalisation, the Centre for a Social Europe[10] and the Protect the Local, Globally think-tank.[29] 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. 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.[10]

Lucas is 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.[29] Her most substantial 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.[30]

In early 2013, Lucas co-signed a letter which was published in The Guardian newspaper which officially marked her support for the People's Assembly movement.[31] She also gave a speech at the People's Assembly Conference, held at Westminster Central Hall on 22 June 2013. A book by Lucas on her time in parliament, Honourable Friends: Parliament and the Fight for Change, was published in 2015.[32]

Awards

Caroline Lucas speaking as the first Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales at its autumn conference in 2008.

In her time as a politician and activist, Lucas has won the 2006 Michael Kay Award "for her outstanding contribution to European animal welfare" from the RSPCA.[33]

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.[34][35][36] In 2008 she was listed by The Guardian as one of "50 people who could save the planet".[37]

In October 2008 Lucas was winner in the Trade category of The Parliament magazine MEP Awards 2008.[38] The awards are voted for by MEPs and NGOs. In April 2010 Lucas won Best UK Politician in The Independent Green Awards[39] and in November 2010 she was awarded "Newcomer of the Year" in The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year awards.[40] In July 2011 she was awarded "Best all-rounder" in the Total Politics End of Year MP awards[41] and in September 2011 she was awarded "MP of the Year" in the Women in Public Life Awards 2011.[42] Also in 2011 she was given the Political Studies Association award for "Influencing the Political Agenda"[43] and voted "Progressive of the Year" in Left Foot Forward's readers' poll.[44]

Personal life

Lucas married Richard Le Quesne Savage in 1991; the couple have two sons.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Greens Pick MEP Lucas to Run for MP, Brighton Argus, 18 July 2007
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Lucas, Dr Caroline", Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, Nov 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2015 (subscription required).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Dr. Caroline Lucas MEP, in the European Parliament.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ MPs who have signed the Simpol Pledge: uk.simpol.org – MPs who have signed the Simpol Pledge
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ "Greens battle to be the first MP", The Argus, Brighton, 14 June 2007
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Dr Caroline Lucas MEP's Biography[dead link] on her own website
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ People's Assembly opening letter http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/05/people-assembly-against-austerity 5 February 2013, The Guardian Newspaper.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ RSPCA Presents Lucas With ‘Michael Kay’ Award For Animal Welfare Work
  34. ↑ Who cares wins..., The Guardian
  35. ↑ The Observer Ethical Awards 2009, The Guardian
  36. ↑ Observer Ethical Awards: Caroline Lucas, Ethical Politician Award, The Guardian
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ MEP Awards 2008 Winners Archived 12 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ↑ The Green Awards: Our experts celebrate those doing most to protect our fragile environment, The Independent
  40. ↑ Parliamentarian of the Year award recipients 2010, The Spectator Archived 21 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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
  • Liam Fox (Author), Caroline Lucas (Author), Raymond Lygo (Author), Hugh Beach (Author), Nick Grief (Author), Steven Haines (Author), Clare Short (Author), Tim Hare (Author), Ken Booth (Editor), Frank Barnaby (Editor), The Future of Britain's Nuclear Weapons, 2006 ISBN 978-0-9511361-9-5
  • Lucas, C. P., Woodin, M., Green Alternatives to Globalisation: A Manifesto, 2004 ISBN 978-0-7453-1933-9
  • Lucas, C. P., Global Warming, Local Warning: A study of the likely impacts of climate change upon South East England, 2004
  • Lucas, C. P., Towards a GM free Europe: Halting the spread of GMOs in Europe, 2003
  • Jones, A., Lucas, C. P., Local Food: Benefits and Opportunities, 2003
  • Lucas, C. P., Time to Replace Globalisation, 2001
  • Lucas, C. P., Which way for the European Union: Radical Reform or Business as Usual?, 2001
  • Hines, C., Lucas, C. P., Stopping the Great Food Swap: Relocalising Europe's Food Supply, 2001
  • Lucas, C. P., From Seattle to Nice: Challenging the Free Trade Agenda at the Heart of Enlargement, 2000
  • Lucas, C. P., Woodin, M., The Euro or a Sustainable Future for Britain? A Green Critique of the Single Currency, 2000
  • Lucas, C. P., Watchful in Seattle: World Trade Organisation threats to Public Services, Food and the Environment, 1999
  • Lucas, C. P., Reforming World Trade: The Social and Environmental Priorities, 1996
  • Coote, B., Lucas, C. P., The Trade Trap, 1994
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Party political offices
New office Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
2008–2012		 Succeeded by
Natalie Bennett
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Brighton Pavilion
2010–present		 Incumbent
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