British Environmentalism : A Party in Movement ?

Protection of the environment in Britain has a long history going back to the Victorian era when the first activists struggled against the damage caused by industrialisation in the large urban centres. What came to be called environmentalism in the late 20th century went well beyond this environmental protectionism, be it in terms of discourse or action repertoires. Beginning in the 1970s, environmentalism became a mass movement with its own political party (The Green Party), its pressure groups (Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace), its think-tanks (Green Alliance, New Economics Foundation) and its direct activism (Earth First !). This paper will analyse the dual strategy of the British green movement ; that is, the creation of a green political alternative and/or the greening of the political system as it stands