History of the Green Party of England and Wales History of the Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales has its roots in the PEOPLE Party started in Coventry in 1972/3 by four professional friends (Michael Benfield, Freda Sanders, Tony and Lesley Whittaker). It then changed its name to the more descriptive Ecology Party in 1975, and to the Green Party ten years later. In the 1990s, the Scottish and Northern Ireland wings of the Green Party in the United Kingdom decided to separate amicably from the party in England and Wales, to form the Scottish Green Party and the Green Party in
Ecology Party member. That same year the Leader Tony Whittaker and National Secretary Lesley Whittaker (founder members of the original PEOPLE party) greatly reduced their involvement with the party. At the 1977 Party Conference in Birmingham, the Party's first constitution was ratified and Jonathon Porritt was elected to the Ecology Party National Executive Committee (NEC). Porritt would become the Party's most significant public figure, working, with David Fleming, "to provide the Party with an attractive image and effective organization". With Porritt gaining increasing prominence and an election manifesto called "The Real Alternative", the Ecology Party fielded 53 candidates in the 1979 General