About the Green Liberal Democrats
The Green Liberal Democrats are the environmental conscience of the Liberal Democrats. We are an Associated Organisation within the Liberal Democrats. We are proud that the Liberal Democrats are committed to a low carbon future.
Our Goals are to:
- Promote a green approach to policy formation within the Liberal Democrats.
- Provide information and political education from a green perspective to Party activists and elected representatives.
- Establish and develop links with the wider green movement.
- Welcome those that share our aims and encourage participation in our activities, ensuring equality of opportunity for all members.
Our History
In May of 1977, an exploratory meeting of interested party members authorised an ad hoc committee to arrange an environmentally considered presence at the 1977 Liberal Party Assembly in Brighton. In summer of 1977, the Liberal Ecology Group was formed. A well attended fringe event, a number of meetings in London, and the drafting of a constitution formalised the party.
By the 1978 Assembly at Southport the Group was already being consulted by the Party hierarchy and it could be claimed that it was an accepted, if unofficial, part of the liberal commonwealth. In 1979, the autonomous partner Scottish Liberal Ecology Group was formed.
The Liberal Ecology Group put forth the need for a radical reappraisal of the 'industrial imperative' within the Liberal discourse, and published its first manifesto in 1979. Read it here.
When the Liberals and SDP merged in 1988, the heritage of the LEG was codified within the Preamble to the Constitution of the new party:
" We believe that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet and, by safeguarding the balance of nature and the environment, for the long term continuity of life in all its forms. "
The Green Liberal Democrats were formed alongside the Party and has functioned as its environmental Think Tank for over 30 years. The GLD runs fringe meetings, our own conference, and instigates environmental action both within and beyond the Lib Dem apparatus.
For more see the Wikipedia page Green Liberalism