Green Party of England and Wales Green Party, a group which had originally been established as the PEOPLE Party in 1973. Experiencing centralising reforms spearheaded by the Green 2000 group in the early 1990s, the party sought to emphasise growth in local governance, doing so throughout the 1990s. In 2010, the party gained its first MP in Lucas, who represents the constituency of Brighton Pavilion. The Green Party of England and Wales has its origins in the PEOPLE Party, which was founded in Coventry in 1973. PEOPLE was renamed The Ecology Party in 1975, and in 1985 changed again to the Green Party. In 1989 the
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