A CALL has been made for a heritage plaque to be installed in the city centre to mark 50 years since the Green Party’s historic first ever meeting was held in Coventry.
Coventry solicitors Lesley Whittaker and her husband Tony formed the Greens, then known as the PEOPLE Party, back in 1973, alongside Dr K Michael Benfield and Freda Benfield.
The party held its first-ever meeting in the city in February of that year at 20 Broadgate, the estate agency showroom of Edward Savage and Associates.
Around 40 people travelled from as far away as Leeds to attend the evening and the Greens have since grown to have over 52,000 members and currently hold 745 council seats across the country.
The city’s party representatives have called for a heritage plaque to be placed on Cathedral Lanes, the building nearest to where the showroom stood, to mark the event in Coventry’s history.
Lesley went on to stand as one of the PEOPLE Party’s first two candidates in the February 1974 election and has been calling for this plaque for a decade.
She said: “Coventry is an ancient city which has embraced many new ideas and developments over the centuries and giving rise to the first green political party in Europe is worth noting.”
Prof Benfield added: “Lesley’s determination and thorough investigation revealed that, at the time, all it took to become a political party was to claim it to be so, and so we did just that.
“It was a testament to the spirit of grassroots activism and the pioneering nature of our early members.”
The party has recently found electoral success in its home city, with Coun Stephen Gray becoming its first-ever member of Coventry City Council in 2022 and Coun Esther Reeves the Greens’ second representative at this year’s election.
The petition, which already has over 100 signatures, will soon be submitted to the city council’s Heritage Committee.
As part of the application, they will need to get the permission of the Cathedral Lanes building’s current owners.
Visit coventry.greenparty.org.uk/2023/07/16/heritage/ to sign the petition.
