At a time when Neal Lawson, one of the Labour Party’s leading proponents of political pluralism, is under threat of expulsion from Labour’s intolerant ruling faction, it seems quite courageous for a local constituency party to organise any kind of open debate about policy – let alone one that includes non-Labour speakers and supporters of other parties.

Hats off, then, to Lewes CLP for their From Red to Green event on Saturday, packed with activists and fizzing from start to finish with ideas on how Labour should tackle all aspects of the ecological crisis.

Raphael Kaplinsky made the keynote address to the event, outlining some of the key themes in his 2021 book Sustainable Futures: An Agenda for Action. We need to reformulate what we mean by output and growth, he explained, emphasising the opportunities, rather than the costs, of going green. Underlining the need to dematerialise as well as decarbonise, both production and consumption, he pointed out that amid all the taxation on work and income, only 1.5% of taxes are levied on people who damage the environment.

A wide-ranging discussion followed. What came through strongly was a sense of the gulf between what urgently needs to be done to tackle the climate emergency and the cautious agenda of the Labour Opposition, with its commitment to the independence of financial institutions, its scaling back of its £28 billion green investment plans and its controlling approach to local and regional government which augurs badly for future devolution.

There was a wide choice of afternoon workshops. Andrew Simms, co-director of Rapid Transition Alliance, highlighted how the Covid pandemic underlined the importance of government agency in confronting the major challenges we face. Hilary Wainwright, co-author  of The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making, spoke about the importance of trade unions in the transition to environmentally useful production. Former MEP Shaun Spiers, Executive Director of the Green Alliance and author of How to build houses and save the countryside, argued that Labour has virtually nothing to say about nature, despite mounting public concern.

There was a further diverse panel of environmental experts for the closing plenary. Lewes CLP are to be congratulated for organising these events. The next is Saturday November 18^th  – Mission possible: A festival of ideas for the next Labour government.