Caroline is Co-President of the European Movement, having previously served as the UK’s first Green Party MP between 2010 and 2024. Caroline also served as Leader and Co-Leader of the Green Party, and for 10 years as an MEP in the European Parliament.

She is a writer, campaigner and keynote speaker, who has won numerous awards for her work. Her latest book – ‘Another England: How to Reclaim our National Story’ – is a Sunday Times bestseller.

Michael Soffe : How can the Green Party overcome the voting system in the UK without PR? Is there something that you feel should be done differently?

Our democracy is broken. Nearly two million people voted Green at the General Election last year, and under a system of PR, that could have delivered us over 40 MPs – which would have been transformational! Instead we have four – a result that’s not only unfair, it’s a democratic crisis that leaves so many people’s voices unheard. The current system reflects an outdated political paradigm that serves the two big establishment parties and stifles the real change this country desperately needs. My hope is that, before the next election, the Labour leadership finally realises this – and recognises that it’s also in their interests to embrace electoral reform. 

Labour’s members have already made their views known, when Conference voted three years ago in favour of changing the system – but Keir Starmer ignored them. It’s time he listened. But even with just four MPs, Greens are making a real difference – putting issues high on the political agenda that simply wouldn’t otherwise be there, like more ambitious climate and nature policies, bringing public services into public hands, introducing a wealth tax and – of course – much closer ties with the EU. And at a local level, Greens are going from strength to strength, with over 800 councillors, and serving as members of the administration of 40 councils.

Ruth Woodhouse : What was your greatest “takeaway” from your time as an MEP?

That the European Parliament does some really important and effective things – but we need to communicate about them so much better! During the Brexit referendum, it became clear that the vast majority of the British public had no idea that British politicians were co-legislators in Europe – which allowed the Leave campaign to claim that that EU policy was being ‘imposed’ on people. That said, the EU also needs to be more transparent and accountable so that people can genuinely see how decisions are made, and know how to influence them.

Tracy Rolfe : What effect has Brexit had on the environment and green initiatives?

A very damaging one! It’s been said that, post Brexit, environmental legislation in Britain is facing death by a thousand cuts. For example, a number of toxic chemicals that are banned in the EU can still be used in the UK. As a result, over 100 food items are allowed to carry more pesticide when sold to the UK public. It also means our waters are dirtier, and our consumer products are more likely to contribute to global deforestation. 

I’m pleased that the European Movement is now doing more to campaign on the environmental impacts of Brexit and, in particular, is calling on the Government to seek to rejoin the European Environment Agency as a first step: a practical way of working more closely together on shared common problems over shared species and habitats, and also a practical way of building trust and confidence. 

Steve Wilson : The Government insists that the US remains a valuable ally. Should the UK speak out against Trump as Canada, France and others have done, and what would be the ramifications of doing so?

I believe the UK should stand up to bullies. And if we did so in close cooperation with our European neighbours and others who share our values, like Canada, we’d likely be in a much stronger position than we are right now. At the moment we face the worst of both worlds – the so-called ’special relationship’ hasn’t shielded us from US tariffs, and being outside the EU means greater trade friction with European partners too. Trump had to back down over his latest round of tariffs, and is now weaker. We should capitalise on the opportunity to work together in all of our interests, rather than each suing for the most advantageous deal possible for our own individual ’national interest’.

Anon : Is Labour’s determination not to break their manifesto promises – even if harmful to economic growth and stability – ensuring they’ll be a one-term Government?

I imagine you’re talking specifically about their totally arbitrary ‘fiscal rules’ and their inflexible red lines over Europe? If so, I’d agree that it puts their re-election chances in real jeopardy. Worse, they could well be making it more likely that Reform UK will do well. People didn’t vote Labour to see more cuts to welfare and public services. I’ve been horrified to see how Labour’s response to the rise of the populist right has been to shift in their direction, rather than standing up to them. Their recent Facebook ads advertising tougher migration policies, deliberately branded as if it were from Reform, were a particularly low point. Both Starmer and Reeves keep saying the world has changed. I agree with them. So why haven’t they changed their policies to align with this new reality?

Trevor Andrews : If you were in charge of the EU, what change would be your key priority?

Properly funding the European Green Deal policies, and making them more ambitious, alongside a genuinely just transition for affected workers. That way the EU could be a real beacon of best practice and could demonstrate that Green policies tackle both social injustice and environmental degradation.

Michael Soffe : Do you believe the time will ever come when we overseas voters will have our own constituencies?

Yes, but not in this Parliament. To make it happen, firstly we need to make sure all MPs know what overseas constituencies are and why UK citizens overseas would be better served by overseas MPs than the current arrangement. This is the phase we are in. Then we need to get overseas constituencies as a policy into the Labour and Conservative manifestos (it is already Lib Dem policy) for the next General Election. The final phase will be to pass legislation in the next Parliament. This timetable is feasible but exacting. 

Ruth Woodhouse :  Do you believe that the outrageous behaviour of Donald Trump and the increasing unreliability of the US could speed up the process towards a strengthened UK-EU relationship?

Yes, I am confident that it will have this effect. 

The UK and the EU’s pro-Ukraine stance is driving this process and is already having this effect on UK-EU military relations. The UK’s pre-eminence as an arms manufacturer should put the UK in a strong position as Europe seeks to develop more effective joint procurement to re-equip its armies. This will require deeper cooperation between the UK and the EU.

Trump’s attacks on the international rules-based order are also driving the UK and the EU closer together. As an example of this, the US opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity in the UN General Assembly. The UK and France then abstained on a US drafted resolution at the UN Security Council which called for an end to the conflict but contained no criticism of Russia.

However, were Trump to launch a trade war against the EU, but not the UK, this could trigger a cooling of UK-EU relations, particularly if the UK appeared to side with Trump or remained silent on the issue.  

Mike Phillips: With Trump’s recent betrayal of security guarantees for Ukraine, how best can Lib Dems encourage Starmer to give greater priority to strengthening links with Europe?

Trump’s actions are already making it clear to Sir Keir Starmer that the UK needs to strengthen its links, at all levels, with the EU.

To encourage Sir Keir Starmer, the Lib Dems should express vocal support for any UK/EU warming of relations, press him to go further than he would like and continue to speak out loudly (in a way it is difficult for the UK Government to do) against the chaos Trump is creating around him. 

Anon :  Some pro-Europeans are holding out for full EU membership while others are fighting for incremental changes to the Brexit deal. Which approach is likely to be more effective? 

The most effective approach in my view would be to gradually rebuild relations with the EU, start to make incremental changes that improve the Brexit deal, increase the UK’s limited influence over the EU and stop any UK legislative changes that could lead to further divergence.

This is the most likely route to rejoining the EU in the medium to long term. It would also mean we had demonstrated our reliability and commitment over a number of years, reducing the risk in the eyes of the EU that the UK is an untrustworthy partner who shouldn’t be allowed to rejoin. It would also give us the time to work on highlighting the benefits of EU membership, so we are in a strong position to fight the inevitable referendum. 

David Eldridge : What is the chance of electoral reform happening after the next election?

With all the smaller parties in favour of electoral reform, and the Labour party membership and trade union movement (if not the Labour leadership) backing PR, support for PR is growing. 

Add to that a two-party system that is splintering, leading to an increased likelihood of no party having a majority in the next Parliament. To form a government the larger party would require a coalition with a smaller party, which would likely seek PR as part of an agreed programme of government.

But to guarantee reform, we need the general public to be talking about electoral reform as one of the solutions to the UK’s longstanding and most intractable problems and putting pressure on the government for change. This isn’t happening at scale yet. Making PR the subject of supportive dinner table conversations is our biggest challenge and our best chance of ensuring PR for Westminster is in the next Labour manifesto.

Steve Wilson : With Labour MPs and members at odds with the government regarding Brexit and PR, do you think we can expect a change of approach before the next election?

The government are focused on delivering their five missions, with a sixth recently added, to boost the UK’s security and defence.

Although growth is central to its overall mission, and reversing some of the most damaging aspects of Brexit would be the quickest way to achieve growth, so far it looks as though the government is still too scared of ‘red wall’ voters to suggest any rapprochement that could be described as undoing Brexit. It has also painted itself into a corner by saying no single market, no customs union, no freedom of movement. So, I expect incremental improvements in UK/EU relations, not a big bang (see my answer to Ruth Woodhouse’s question).

For the answer on any change of approach to PR, see my answer to David Eldridge.

What do you consider Unlock Democracy’s greatest achievement, and your greatest challenge going forward?

Unlock Democracy’s greatest recent achievement is to have regained some of the visibility and influence it achieved in the years after it was first launched in 1988 (it was then called Charter 88). Unlock Democracy is now in regular conversations with government officials and MPs about a range of democratic reform issues, including automatic voter registration, postal votes for overseas voters, votes at 16, and foreign funding of UK politics. We expect a number of policies we have been campaigning for to be included in an Elections Bill which should be published in the next six months.

Our greatest challenge going forward is to broaden our support base so we can reach millions of people, rather than hundreds of thousands. This will be needed if we are to achieve electoral reform but also to reduce the UK’s vulnerability to a Trumpian-style insurgent government which denigrates and downgrades UK democracy and institutions.  

Lisa Burton : Do you think if Britain was to change its voting method from FPTP to a type of proportional representation it would remove some of the tribalism and help restore trust in politics?

PR isn’t a panacea. Introducing PR won’t, on its own, restore trust in politics. This will require action on a number of fronts. It will require:

• a period of stable government
• evidence the government can deliver
• an absence of newsworthy scandals involving MPs

However, PR would help on all of these fronts: 

• providing more continuity in government than First Past The Post (FPTP) voting which is leading to more and more unpredictable and potentially extreme outcomes 
• delivering more effective government with evidence that countries with PR are healthier, wealthier, have less income inequality and are more serious about tackling climate change than countries with FPTP

offering fewer safe seats leading to less risk-taking by MPs. 

On the subject of tribalism, PR for Westminster elections is likely to lead to coalition governments. Coalitions require parties to work together. This builds relations between politicians from different parties. It also means the policy solutions they design have to have wider electoral appeal. It may also reduce the chance that policies which coalition partners worked on together get scrapped after an election in which one of the coalition partners loses its seat at the Cabinet table.

Next month

Caroline Lucas was the UK’s first Green Party Member of Parliament between 2010 and 2024, and before that served for 10 years in the European Parliament.  She has also served as both Leader and Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.  She is a writer, campaigner and keynote speaker, with a particular interest in the role of education and the arts in mobilising action on the climate and nature emergencies.  She has won numerous awards for her work: in 2020 she topped the list of the BBC Radio Woman’s Hour One Planet Power List of influential activists, educators and campaigners, and in 2024 the UK’s largest sustainable business awards scheme presented her with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

She is Co-President of the European Movement, and a Trustee of the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne.  Her latest book, a Sunday Times bestseller, is Another England: How to Reclaim our National Story.

If you would like to submit a question(s) for Caroline, please email us no later than Tuesday 8 April.