Politics
Green MP Caroline Lucas is stepping down at the next election
Caroline Lucas, the Green Party’s first and only MP, has announced that she will retire at the next general election.
Ms Lucas, who has represented the Brighton ward since 2010, said it was “the privilege of my life to serve this extraordinary constituency and community”.
In a letter to her constituents in the Brighton ward, Ms Lucas said the “threats to our precious planet” were “more urgent than ever”, but her role in Parliament as the sole Green MP meant she was “paradoxically” unable to Devoting more attention to the “accelerating crises” facing climate and nature.
“Therefore, I have decided not to run again as your deputy in the upcoming elections,” she said.
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Lucas served as leader of the Green Party between 2008 and 2012 before returning as co-leader with Jonathan Bartley for a two-year term from September 2016.
She joins a growing group of senior elected politicians who have announced that they will step down in the upcoming elections.
Dame Lucas successfully stood for the ward constituency of Brighton at the 2010 general election with a vote of 1,252, becoming the first ever Green MP. This majority has increased in each subsequent election and in 2019 stands at 19,940.
Lucas has received many awards for her work as an MP. She was named Most Influential MP in 2012 by the Association for Political Studies and “Newcomer of the Year” at viewer’Parliamentary Awards 2010.
During her 13 years in parliament, Ms Lucas, 62, said her achievements included putting issues such as universal basic income and the legal right to access nature on the political agenda, as well as introducing a GCSE in natural history into the curriculum which she said was “thanks to my work”. in Parliament.”
Ms Lucas was an influential member of People’s Voices which campaigned for a second referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. Lucas told the audience at the organization’s launch event:[Brexit is] It is not inevitable… We will do everything we can in Parliament for the people’s vote. This issue is too important to be left to the politicians.”
She also campaigned for parliamentary reform and was a prominent campaigner for animal rights.
In a letter to my constituents, he got it argus Ms. Lucas said she looked forward to having more time to explore ways to make the “livable future a reality”.
She wrote: “I love this city and its people, and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to have been given the opportunity to represent and work with you.
“I’ve always prided myself on being, first and foremost, a good constituency MP. I’ve done everything I can to help where I can and have always worked to make sure people feel heard, that their concerns matter, and that they’re not alone.
“But the severity of these constituency obligations, combined with the special responsibilities of being the sole MP for my party, has meant, ironically, that I haven’t been able to focus as much as I’d like on the existential challenges driving me — nature and the climate emergency.
“The truth is, as these threats to our precious planet become more urgent than ever, I’ve struggled to spend as much time as I want on these accelerating crises.
“I have therefore decided not to run again as your deputy in the next elections.”
The deadline for the next elections to be held is January 28, 2025, when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is widely expected to launch a poll sometime in fall 2024.
