The Green Party has welcomed calls from a shadow cabinet ally of Jeremy Corbyn for Labour to work more closely with its MP Caroline Lucas.
Writing in The Guardian, Clive Lewis called for “progressive cross-party alliances” to take on the Conservative Party. He said:
“Frankly, I want to be in government with Caroline Lucas, not against her – and certainly not in permanent opposition.”
A spokesperson for the Greens told The Huffington Post UK: “For a long time Caroline has been calling for progressives to work together more. It’s great that Clive Lewis has the courage to say people are better served when politicians work together on areas where they agree.
“It must be increasingly clear to Labour that they cannot win an outright majority at the next election, no matter who their leader is. This is their opportunity to recognise that a more plural politics is in both their electoral and political interests.”
His suggestion did not go down too well with all Labour MPs. One told Politics Home: “They’re welcome to each other. Maybe they could do a job share as Defence Secretary. They could replace army bases with a series of recycling centres. Rename one of the aircraft carriers ‘Rainbow Warrior 2’. Insist that the Chief of Defence Staff is a vegan. The possibilities are endless.”
Lewis also told The Guardian he wanted parties on the left to form an “electoral pact to stop the Tories”.
He said: “I sit and listen to Caroline Lucas and seven or eight times out of 10, I listen and think: not sure about that bit but most of it I agree with. When the Tories jeer her, I want to stand up. Half the time when the SNP are speaking, I listen to what Mhairi Black or others are saying and think I agree with that. I listen to Tom Brake [a Lib Dem] and think I agree with what he says on that issue.”