Whilst in Germany I decided to leave the Green Party of England and Wales. Not out of disgust, mind, but a recognition that she and I had merely drifted apart. Much like a hopeless Professor Farnsworth declaring that he doesn’t “want to live on this planet anymore” when facing the despair of anti-evolution cranks in an episode of Futurama, I glanced over the options on the leadership ballot, concluded that neither were viable, and took my exit.
I was wrong: my scepticism of London Assembly member Zack Polanski’s ability to lead a parliamentary party of nearly as many MPs and councillors as Reform was clearly misguided. He was elected with 83% of cast ballots (this trans woman thanks God, given the other candidates’ comparatively less forthcoming support of trans rights). He has proven himself capable of doing what leftists really need to do, in the UK at large and in Oxford: engaging ordinary people in progressive politics. He has talked to Farage voters, and declared out loud his support for trans rights and immigration. He’s unafraid to defend his beliefs, without talking down to those who disagree. All of this has certainly caught people’s eye, with the Greens membership skyrocketing to 100,000 and counting.
It’s certainly a shame, then, that the Oxford Student Greens are almost nowhere to be seen, having been on hiatus for the past year. With a lacklustre social media presence and no in person events to offer insofar, they are missing a crucial opportunity to capture this moment and challenge Oxford Labour Club’s top spot in left-wing student politics at this University.
Historically, Oxford Labour Club (OLC) has been the default home for lefties in Oxford. Many of the big OLC names would eventually be preceded by ‘the right honourable’ as they file into the ranks of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Now, though, the PLP is hemorrhaging progressive clout for its insistence on reducing trans people’s lives to their genitalia, its inaction on Israel’s assault on Gaza, and its rhetoric around migration. Even if they do not reach such lofty heights, anybody on the OLC committee must also be a member of the Labour Party itself. So, it begs the question, why do progressives bother with OLC?
One answer lies with the fact that the alternatives to OLC are often just a bit dry. Events and societies designed for egalitarian, grassroots democratic engagement, such as the orderly discussions at Rum & Revolution (the October Club’s boozy debating event), suffer from this. When I was a regular attendee, the appeal of Beer & Bickering (OLC’s flagship social event) was the fact it was fun. Whilst the good vibes have taken a nose dive since Labour became the party of government, it has historically been a left(ish) space where progressives snipe and centrists jeer, but we all keep the red flag flying here. Life’s too serious to take seriously; I yearn for the theatre of being flayed by the sharp tongue of a Wadhamite, or called a “shitlib” for suggesting, three vodkas down, that the UK ought to return to pre-decimal currency.
Of course, another reason OLC is the dominant left leaning society in Oxford is because of the brand name: Labour. In a two-party system, this makes sense; if you’re left of the Liberal Democrats, vote Labour. But, in a town where the student population elected Greens to the City and county council, this no longer makes sense. Instead, the student Greens seem the obvious choice for Oxford progressives. This holds true especially in the light of the conflict between Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn over the Your Party membership portal.
What the Labour Club offers left-leaning students is a fun, lively place to be neither a Tory nor a Lib Dem. What it cannot offer, and what a lot of left-leaning people want, is a grouping out of the clutches of the Labour Party. This must be the unique selling point of the Your Party or Green society – if they can avoid the aforementioned trap of being too earnest to be fun. The Your Party society is leaving its events and setup in the hands of interested students, and excuse my cynicism, but the first taste of a possible new leftist society may therefore be tinged with death by committee. The Greens, having the party armoury at its disposal, can do away with such drudgery and start on a high note, but start they must.
The inevitable debating events will also have to find the path between being fun and facilitating dull yet insightful discussion. To appropriate a quote from Kim Campbell, possibly Canada’s answer to Liz Truss: “an election is no time to discuss serious issues”. Although she was mocked for saying this, it hits on a slight truth: what drives people to engage in politics is as often a desire for camaraderie as it is the policies. Progressives have to excite and entertain like our new folk hero, Zack Polanski. What Oxford needs is a Green event, an answer to OLC’s Beer and Bickering. As for a name – let me see – Sozzled Socialism? Ecology and Ethanol? Some workshopping may be needed.
