Caroline Lucas to step down as Green Party’s only MP

Caroline Lucas, former leader of the Green Party and the first Green MP in the House of Commons, has announced her decision not to stand for re-election at the next general election. In a letter to her Brighton Pavilion constituents, the 62-year-old MP expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve the community and highlighted the increasing urgency of environmental threats. Lucas admitted that her position as the Green Party’s only MP limited her ability to devote time to addressing these pressing issues.

Lucas was first elected as MP for Brighton Pavilion in the 2010 general election, and her majority has grown in every subsequent election, reaching nearly 20,000 in 2019. The Green Party commended her as a “force of nature” following her announcement.

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer stated, “Caroline’s impact on politics in this country cannot be overstated: she truly is a force of nature and has been an extraordinary servant of the people of Brighton Pavilion as well as the Green Party. We are so proud of her achievements.”

Joint leader Adrian Ramsay added, “Very few politicians can claim to have changed the course of the national debate in the way Caroline has. She has brought so much to us as a party, shown real integrity in her work and added a crucial dimension to our democracy in this country.” He also mentioned the party’s goal to elect more Green MPs in the next general election to build upon Lucas’s accomplishments.

In her letter, Lucas explained that her commitment to being a good constituency MP prevented her from focusing as much as she would have liked on climate concerns. She wrote, “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.”

However, she acknowledged the irony of her situation, stating, “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.”