Sundry Greenery

The obstinately robust Green Party keeps banging away at what it sees as important. Caroline Lucas went to the International Arms Fair – a sales pitch by Defence & Security Equipment International – to see what they were peddling, and spotted that some of the items were in fact illegal. They included handheld projectile electric shock weapons, weighted leg cuffs, and stun batons, all of which are obviously designed for use against civilians who have got a bit uppity. As a result of Caroline’s parliamentary question and a subsequent point of order, Tianjin Myway International Trading Co. and Magforce International were ejected from the Fair. But who permitted them in the first place, and why did no other MP object?

More generally, there’s a lot of fun in being a Green. When the Labour Party decided to hold their conference in Brighton, it ignored the fact that Caroline Lucas is Brighton’s MP, and delegates were startled by a large digital advert right outside the railway station.

‘Welcome to Brighton,’ it said. ‘Home of the True Opposition in Parliament. PS – Labour is down the hill on the right.’

Neatly put.