Peter Hain’s idea of “outflanking” the Greens betrays a misunderstanding of what green politics is about (Report, 23 January). Green politics is not a more radical version of labourism, but a different politics altogether. Labour (old and new) will argue that economic growth is the solution to all our problems. Greens argue that continued growth in a country like ours, far from being a source of wellbeing and a solution to inequality, is an obstacle to them both. Growth threatens wellbeing by dismantling the ecological and social webs that bind us together and justifies inequality on the grounds that the bigger the cake, the more crumbs will fall from the table. Climate change is a sign of the catastrophic strain that mainstream politics has put us under. That’s why a vote for the Green party is a fundamentally different vote to one for Labour – however bold on tax and spending Labour turns out to be.
Professor Andrew Dobson
Keele University
• I love the utopian dreams of the Green party and, just like John Harris (The Green surge, G2, 22 January), applaud their “audacity of hope”. Dreams are all very well, but it is having a working Commons majority that allows them to implement their programme. If the Greens want to have the power of office, as opposed to the liberty of perpetual opposition, they will need to get used to the grubby business of government, probably as part of a coalition. In reality, this will mean having to accept policies and actions that go against the green ideology, imposed by a dominant Labour party. Those wedded to green idealism should also look at history and see that insurgent parties will, inevitably, be co-opted by the elite. This happened to Labour, originally founded to be a voice of the trade unions. Do not assume that the Green leadership will be any different.
Jeremy Ross
Ashtead, Surrey
