Benali Hamdache

A GREEN Islington councillor at the forefront of a new “anticapitalist” group launched at the Green Party conference says he wants to show that the party is a “welcome space” for voters on the left.

Benali Hamdache, a councillor in Highbury ward, spoke as 200 people gathered to discuss how the new group, Greens Organise, will function.

“The launch was really energy giving,” said Cllr Hamdache.

“It’s a democratic, grassroots organisation, and we’re right at the beginning of setting it up. We’re excited to build campaigns, give councillors ideas for what they can do locally, and to run events to get people thinking about how we can have a fairer, more equal society.”

The Green Party hit its general election target by winning four parliamentary seats in July. But as the party grows, Cllr Hamdache said that Greens Organise wants to ensure that the party sticks to its left-wing principles, rather than shift to centre, as other international Green parties have done in the quest for mainstream support.

Speaking after the conference in Manchester, Cllr Hamdache said: “We’re here to show that there’s a welcome space in the Green Party for left-wingers. We want to keep the party going in the right direction.”

He added: “It’s about learning from experience across the world. There are lots of Green parties that I’m inspired by, like the French Greens or the Brazilian Greens, but there are examples of Green parties that should give us more caution, for example the Irish Greens who have gone into coalition with the Conservatives.”

Members of Greens Organise say they believe a strong left-wing policy programme will be the best way for the Green Party to capture the votes of those who have turned away from Labour under Sir Keir Starmer.

“We came second in 40 seats where Labour is our main opposition,” Cllr Hamdache said. “The vast majority of these seats are socially liberal, and I just want to make sure we’re focused on catching those progressive bold votes.”

He added: “Labour have already staked out where they are heading. There’s a lot of bland centrism there, and there’s going to be a lot of space for the Green Party to capture the votes of people on the left, people who have a bolder vision of politics.”

At a council meeting last night (Thursday), Cllr Hamdache’s Islington Greens and the new opposition grouping of independent councillors proposed a motion calling on the government to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Labour’s controversial decision to keep the cap has left many traditionally left-wing Labour supporters questioning the party’s commitment to reducing child poverty and providing support for the most vulnerable.

Cllr Hamdache, who seconded the motion, said: “Islington Labour are in the same party as this government, and if this government is visiting pain and suffering upon people in Islington, then councillors here are just as accountable as the government in that.”

He added: “As an opposition councillor for the last two years, I’ve been very sympathetic to the situation in Islington Council. They’ve had to make difficult decisions based on punishing cuts.

“My sympathy starts to dry up however when those cuts are based on Labour policies, where there is a Labour government, a Labour mayor, and a Labour council. We’ve got to be a lot clearer in what they need to deliver.”