Greens Pay Tribute As Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas Steps Down After 13 Years

The UK's first and only Green MP, has announced that she will not stand for Brighton Pavilion in the next General Election, expected in 2024.

Since joining the Green Party in 1986, she has been elected twice as leader of the party and has been MP for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election.

In an open letter to constituents on her website, she said:

"It has been the privilege of my life to serve this extraordinary constituency and community, both those who voted for me, and those who did not, ever since – and to see my majority increase at each of the subsequent three General Elections.

"And when I think back over the past 13 years, my strongest emotion is deep gratitude. Thank you so much to all those who put your faith in me and put the politics of hope above the politics of fear. To every person who has stopped me on the bus and in the street to ask how I am and to share your personal stories, and who has offered encouragement as I have stood up in parliament to champion your concerns and to hold this government to account, thank you.  

"I love this city and its people, and I know how incredibly blessed I’ve been to have been given the opportunity to represent you, and to work alongside you. I have always prided myself on being, first and foremost, a good constituency MP. The people who have come to me in my regular surgeries are often desperate, feeling like they have nowhere else to turn – they’re looking for care and compassion not the tangled bureaucratic web that passes for a safety net, and that all too often just causes confusion and complication. I’ve done everything possible to help wherever I can and always worked to ensure that people feel heard, that their concerns matter, and that they are not alone.

"But the intensity of these constituency commitments, together with the particular responsibilities of being my Party’s sole MP, mean that, ironically, I’ve not been able to focus as much as I would like on the existential challenges that drive me – the Nature and Climate emergencies. I have always been a different kind of politician – as those who witnessed my arrest, court case and acquittal over peaceful protest at the fracking site in Balcombe nearly ten years ago will recall. And the truth is, as these threats to our precious planet become ever more urgent, I have struggled to spend the time I want on these accelerating crises. I have therefore decided not to stand again as your MP at the next election.

"The reason I came into politics was to change things. Thirteen years ago it's inconceivable that Parliament would have declared a climate emergency. And I’ve put issues like a universal basic income and a legal right to access nature on the political agenda; secured the first Parliamentary debate in a generation on drug law reform; and thanks to my work in Parliament, a Natural History GCSE will soon be on the syllabus. I have said the previously unsayable, only to see it become part of the mainstream, on coal, on the myth that endless economic growth makes us happier, on a Green New Deal.

"My determination to trying to make change is stronger than ever. I look forward to having the time to explore ever more imaginative and creative ways of helping to make a liveable future a reality. Watch this space!

"My heart will always be in this most special city, and with the inspiring communities and individuals I’ve been privileged to get to know. On election night 2010, I pledged that I would do my very best to do you proud. I can only hope that – whether you voted for me or not – you will judge that that is what I have done."

In a tribute to the MP, Green councillors have released a statement paying tribute to her for her services to the city:

First elected in 2010, Caroline Lucas was the first Green Party MP in the country. In 2019, she grew her majority to have the largest of any post-war MP in Brighton & Hove, including Brighton Kemptown and Hove. Three-times winner of the Parliamentarian of the Year Award, she has consistently found ways to get things done through cross-party collaboration.

As an MP, Caroline has served as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Climate Change and Limits to Growth. She has been a Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency and Democratic Participation, and Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

She has also been Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Better Brexit for Young People, Choice at the End of Life, Drug Policy Reform, EU Relations, European Citizenship Rights, Food Waste, Land Value Capture, Proportional Representation, Pubs, Refugees, Sixth Form Colleges, State Pension Inequality for Women, Students, Visitors' Economy and West Papua. And she has been an Officer of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Sustainable Food and Farming, Domestic Violence and Abuse, Hate Crime, Sexual Violence and Southern Rail.

Cllr Pete West, who was the first Green elected in Brighton & Hove in 1996, said:  

“Caroline Lucas has been a towering figure, both in Brighton & Hove and in Westminster. She has an incredible reputation with people of all or no parties. People across the city will forever be grateful for everything she has done over her years of service.”

Cllr Steve Davis, Convenor of the Green Group on Brighton & Hove Council, said: 

“Throughout difficult times and years of public service, Caroline Lucas has been an unflinching beacon of hope to many people in this city and across the country. 

“Caroline has inspired so many people to get involved in politics, by embodying the best of politicians; speaking truth to power and championing principle and integrity every day.”