Pauline Green
Encyclopedia
Dame Pauline Green DBE (born 8 December 1948) is a former Labour
and Co-operative
Member of the European Parliament
and former Leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES)
. As leader of the PES, she had a central role in the controversy surrounding the failure to discharge the European Commission (EC)
's 1996 budget, bringing the first motion of censure against the Commission but voting against it. She then changed her position following corruption allegations raised by Commissioner Paul van Buitenen to call for Jacques Santer (then President of the European Commission
) to react promptly or be sacked. Green lost the leadership of the PES in 1999, which was attributed in part to her handling of the incident.
Following her re-election as an MEP in 1999, Green announced that she was retiring politics to take up a position as the first female Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK, a position that she held until 2009. Her work with the organisation included sitting on and responding to the recommendations of the Co-operative Commission
, facilitating the organisation's merger with the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) and working to "secure and celebrate" the Co-operative Advantage.
She was made Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours
" services to the Co-operative Movement and to the development of the European Union", and was also the President of ICA
Europe until her election as President of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) in November 2009. As with her appointment to Co-operatives UK, she is the first female president in the organisation's history.
on the island of Malta to an English
soldier serving with the Royal Artillery and his Maltese sweetheart in 1948. The family moved between Malta, Egypt and Germany, following Green's father wherever he was stationed. As a result, Green spent "a lot of [her] very young days in army barracks" and "missed out on secondary and further education".
Following her father's return to civilian life, the family moved to Kilburn in London
when Green was aged fourteen, and - acquiescing to her father's wishes that she did something "safe and steady" - Green studied for an Ordinary National Diploma
in business studies. She started her career as a secretary with a wallpaper manufacturers, before joining the Metropolitan Police
on her 21st birthday. She later said that it was working on the beat and witnessing first hand the cycle of those caught in poverty turning to crime that turned her into a socialist.
In 1971, she was working in the West Hampstead division when she met and married PC Paul Green, resigning from the force in 1974 five months before the birth of her first child. Paul Green went on to become Chief superintendent Green, borough commander for Brent, and was awarded the Queen's Police Medal
in the 1999 New Year's Honours before retiring in 2000. He and Green divorced in 2003.
Whilst staying at home to look after her two children (a son and a daughter), Green studied for a degree from the Open University
. She then spent two full-time years studying at the LSE
for an MSc (Econ)
in Comparative Government. She spent two years between 1982 and 1984 as a lecturer at Barnet College of Further Education, before becoming an assistant teacher at a Special Educational Unit. During this period Green was increasing active in local politics, becoming secretary and then chair of the Chipping Barnet
Labour Party, before standing in (and losing) the elections for a seat on the area's council in 1986. In 1985, she left her teaching career to become Parliamentary Advisor on European Affairs to the Co-operative Union, a position which she left in 1989 as her political career began.
, with her particular interest being a directive backed by the co-operative movement creating common standards for food hygiene across Europe. In June 1989, she announced her intention to stand for a seat in the European elections to help ensure the adoption of the draft directive. She visited "most of the 65 local branches" of the constituency of London North
and won the seat with a majority of 5,387. She was re-elected to the seat in 1994 with a majority of 48,348.
Green was elected Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP)
in 1993, beating incumbent leader Glyn Ford
. She only served for one year, however, after having been chosen and championed by then Labour leader John Smith
to become the new leader of the PES. Given the strength of the Labour presence in the European socialist movement—the 1994 elections in the UK gave Labour 61 seats, and nearly a third of the 15 party Socialist Group—they were in a strong position to get what they wanted. At the 1994 Party Leaders' Conference in Corfu, a "package deal" was agreed to fill the upcoming political posts, and it was agreed that Green would take the leadership post with strong backing from the Labour contingent.
Ian White, an MEP elected at the same time as Green, said: "Although the parliamentary group formally elected Pauline, the "deal" was put together by the national party leaders. I believe that, had it been an open election, she would have won in any case, hands down, on competence alone."
She held the position for five years (1994–99), and was involved at senior levels of policy making in the European Union
and member governments. In 1998 there were rumours that she would stand to be Labour's candidate for Mayor of London
. Whilst she expressed an interest in the position, she maintained that she would not be able to commit to the position until after the 1999 leadership elections because of her European commitments.
appointment to Spanish
telecommunications giant Telefonica
"sleaze soaked" for the impression it gave that he had used his position in the EC for his own advantage - even though he had broken no rules. However, her own final year as leader saw its own controversy with allegations of corruption against the EC.
One of the Parliament's duties was to discharge the budget, confirming that the year's spending had been in line with the plans originally set by the EC and that the money had been spent honestly and efficiently. However, the parliamentary budget committee decided that it could not fulfill this duty with regard to the 1996 budget until points concerning the reduction of fraud in the transport system had been clarified. For six months, the debate raged, with Green initially supporting the campaign to discharge the budget (whilst calling for more radical change), but only after a group of specialists that included two senior Socialist MEPs announced that there had been a slight improvement. Parties from the centre and the right began to claim that the PES were only supporting their own members, and ultimately the move to discharge the budget was defeated.
It was then that Green asserted that the argument would normally be solved in a national democracy by a vote of confidence: since that option did not exist in EU legislation, she instead tabled a motion of censure against the EC. Green explained that "One of the fundamental reasons for tabling this motion of censure was to decide now - immediately - whether or not the European Commission is able to do its work."
Because of their belief that the EC should be allowed to continue its reform work, Green and the PES announced that they would be voting against their own motion of censure - effectively trying to defeat a call for the sacking of the EC that they had made.
As the argument continued, the parliament also refused to discharge the 1997 budget - and at the same time, allegations of corruption were made against the French commissioner Édith Cresson
. Commissioner Paul van Buitenen accused Cresson of having employed her friend and dentist for eight months as a special advisor on the Environment, at a cost of £30,000. The position was described by sub-contractors in sworn statements as a job "for which he is not required to do any work". The EC agreed to launch an enquiry in return for the parliament ending its moves to censure the commission.
The eventual report found that the allegations were correct, and Green joined those calling for Santer to respond promptly or risk losing his own position. A second censure motion was tabled, but before it was voted on the entire EC resigned - although they were still allowed to keep their salaries and jobs as an interim arrangement to electing a new Commission. Green saw the resignation as an opportunity to improve the running of the EU, in particularly the ability of the parliament to veto the appointment of the next head of the Commission. She said: "We have to use this opportunity to keep pushing for more openness, more transparency, more public control and accountability in the way Europe is run. We now have a real opportunity to go to the voters in the June elections and prove to them that the European Parliament has done its job and changed the political culture of Brussels once and for all."
The EU member governments - including Tony Blair
's - were not keen on extending the Parliament's powers, but on May Day
the Amsterdam Treaty
came into effect, which extended their influence somewhat. The Parliament had the opportunity to vote their approval of new EC head Romano Prodi
, and did so 392 votes for to 72 against. However, Green's stock was damaged by the long controversy, with even her friends and supporters considering that her handling of the affair did not come across as a coherent strategy, although one commentator at the time did praise the way she had "ridden the Brussels storm with verve and conviction. It was against this background - and allegations that she had improperly used her official car that Green dismissed as a "cheap jibe" that had been blown out of all proportion - that Green had to stand for re-election in her London constituency.
Green retained her seat in the 1999 European Parliament election with a reduced majority of 26,477. This was typical of the Labour Party's performance, with its share of the vote slipping from 44.24% in 1994 to 28.03% causing a resultant reduction in seats from 62 to 29. The European Socialists also did badly in the elections, and lost their dominance of the Parliament, with the European People's Party
becoming the largest group in Parliament.
Green was asked by Prime Minister Tony Blair to restand for the Parliamentary Group leadership. However she withdrew when it became clear she faced opposition from Spanish, German and French socialists to allow the brokering of a deal making Robin Cook
to become PES president. The following September, she also lost her seat on the Labour National Executive Committee
, with the slump in her popularity being largely attributed to her earlier handling of the EC "scandal" and Labour's poor performance in the European parliamentary elections.
In November 1999, Green announced that she would be retiring as an MEP to become the first female chief executive of the Co-operative Union, officially taking up the position on New Year's Day
2000. The decision led to criticism from some quarters, as the mechanics of the electoral system meant that the public would not vote in Green's successor, and instead the next candidate on Labour's list automatically replaced her. Theresa Villiers
, a fellow MEP for the Conservatives
said Green's "resignation demonstrates a total lack of regard for the electorate".
Green was caught up in further controversy the following year, regarding the list of voters eligible to decide the Labour candidate for the 2000 London Mayor elections. Complaints were made about Green's inclusion on the list despite her resignation as an MEP with her vote reported as being "worth a thousand times that of any ordinary member".
leader and was made president of the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) in 1999. As an MEP, she had also been elected President of the 1997 Co-operative Congress
. She was welcomed to the movement by the 2000 Congress President, Pat Wheatley, who described her as "someone of great wisdom, true co-operative principles" and "a shining example of 'courage under fire'" for her work with the PES.
Within two weeks of starting work at the Union, Green sat down with other high profile members of the co-operative movement and drafted a letter to Tony Blair. The letter - signed by Green, Lord Graham of Edmonton, Graham Melmoth, and Len Fyfe - called on the Prime Minister to sponsor a commission to review the co-operative movement and determine its future development and modernisation. The letter arrived against a background of the impending merger of the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) and Co-operative Retail Services
to create the Co-operative Group
, as well as recent efforts by entrepreneur Andrew Regan
to demutualise
the CWS. Blair responded favourably to the request, and pledged his support in setting up a Co-operative Commission
.
The Commission was officially launched under chair John Monks
on 24 February 2000, with Green being invited to serve as one of the 12 commissioners. There was a whispering campaign
amongst Labour MPs that the Commission was intended to look at the party's funding relationship with the co-operative movement, which Green dismissed as "nonsense. The Commission's final report was published in January 2001, leaving Green to begin the work of co-ordinating the Union's response.
The Union began a "deliberate attempt to secure and celebrate [the] co-operative advantage" by increasing its ties with other organisations across the co-operative movement: they began providing professional and admin services for the United Kingdom Co-operative Council (UKCC) and ICOM, and working with co-operative support organisations across the country to establish the "first ever 'all movement' Co-ordination Movement". This work continued into 2001, with Green using her joint positions in ICOM and the Union to facilitate a merger of the two organisations, bringing together the worker and consumer co-operative sectors that had existed separately for over 100 years. The membership voted in December 2002 in favour of a change in the Union's name to reflect its new make-up and in January 2003 the organisation was officially relaunched as Co-operatives UK.
Green continued to work at "driving a culture change in Co-operatives UK" - for example leading the organisation to become the first co-operative to partner with the National Association of Co-operative Officials (NACO)
as its recognised trade union or successfully opposing recommendations from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
that would have seen co-operative members' share capital classed as debt, "destroying" the co-operative advantage.
In October 2002, Green was elected as the President of ICA
Europe, the umbrella body for European co-operatives. This led in turn to her becoming co-chair of Co-operatives Europe in November 2006, sharing her duties with Etienne Pflimlin. The organisation was formed by ICA Europe and the Co-ordinating Committee of European Co-operative Organisations (CCACE) to "work together on issues of importance to co-operatives in Europe", following a drive by Green for closer co-operation between the major European co-operative bodies.
Green announced that she intended to retire as chief executive of the organisation in 2009, saying: "I will be 60 at [that time] and I have always intended to retire when I reached that milestone. The Board [of Co-operatives UK] and I agreed that it made sense for me to finish after Co-operative Congress
2009, which is, to all intents and purposes, the end of our co-operative year." She was succeeded in November 2009 by Ed Mayo
.
Green was elected Chair of the Board of Supporters Direct
following her retirement from Co-operatives UK, and also elected President of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA). Following her election, she stood down from her position within Co-operatives Europe.
and Middlesex University
, and was made Commander of the Order of Honour in 1994 by the President of Greece
. She has since been awarded the Grand Golden Cross with Star by the President of the Republic of Austria
, and been made Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus. In 2003, she was made Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to the Co-operative Movement.
She has been described as "strong, confident and well organised" by Neil Kinnock
, "a refreshing no-nonsense figure" by Phillip Whitehead
and "guided by common sense and an antagonism (which amounts almost to contempt) towards the superficialities of political image-making" by Roy Hattersley
.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and Co-operative
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...
Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
and former Leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES)
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
. As leader of the PES, she had a central role in the controversy surrounding the failure to discharge the European Commission (EC)
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
's 1996 budget, bringing the first motion of censure against the Commission but voting against it. She then changed her position following corruption allegations raised by Commissioner Paul van Buitenen to call for Jacques Santer (then President of the European Commission
President of the European Commission
The President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission ― the executive branch of the :European Union ― the most powerful officeholder in the EU. The President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed...
) to react promptly or be sacked. Green lost the leadership of the PES in 1999, which was attributed in part to her handling of the incident.
Following her re-election as an MEP in 1999, Green announced that she was retiring politics to take up a position as the first female Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK, a position that she held until 2009. Her work with the organisation included sitting on and responding to the recommendations of the Co-operative Commission
Co-operative Commission
The Co-operative Commission was an independent commission set up by Tony Blair at the request of leaders of the British co-operative movement. Its aim was to review the strategy and structures of the sector, with an aim to suggesting ways to develop and modernise the movement, and its members...
, facilitating the organisation's merger with the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) and working to "secure and celebrate" the Co-operative Advantage.
She was made Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
" services to the Co-operative Movement and to the development of the European Union", and was also the President of ICA
International Co-operative Alliance
The International Co-operative Alliance is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895. The ICA maintains the internationally recognised definition of a co-operative...
Europe until her election as President of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) in November 2009. As with her appointment to Co-operatives UK, she is the first female president in the organisation's history.
Early life
Green was born Pauline Wiltshire in GżiraGzira
Gżira is a town in the north-eastern coast of Malta between Msida & Sliema, and bordering on Ta' Xbiex, with its famed yacht marina and Embassy Row. The population is approximately 7,100 . The word Gżira means "island" in Maltese, and the town is named after Manoel Island which lies just adjacent...
on the island of Malta to an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
soldier serving with the Royal Artillery and his Maltese sweetheart in 1948. The family moved between Malta, Egypt and Germany, following Green's father wherever he was stationed. As a result, Green spent "a lot of [her] very young days in army barracks" and "missed out on secondary and further education".
Following her father's return to civilian life, the family moved to Kilburn in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
when Green was aged fourteen, and - acquiescing to her father's wishes that she did something "safe and steady" - Green studied for an Ordinary National Diploma
BTEC ND
The BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma is a vocational qualification taken in England and Wales and Northern Ireland by young people aged 16 and over and by adults. The qualification is organised and awarded by the Edexcel Foundation within the BTEC brand...
in business studies. She started her career as a secretary with a wallpaper manufacturers, before joining the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
on her 21st birthday. She later said that it was working on the beat and witnessing first hand the cycle of those caught in poverty turning to crime that turned her into a socialist.
In 1971, she was working in the West Hampstead division when she met and married PC Paul Green, resigning from the force in 1974 five months before the birth of her first child. Paul Green went on to become Chief superintendent Green, borough commander for Brent, and was awarded the Queen's Police Medal
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
in the 1999 New Year's Honours before retiring in 2000. He and Green divorced in 2003.
Whilst staying at home to look after her two children (a son and a daughter), Green studied for a degree from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
. She then spent two full-time years studying at the LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
for an MSc (Econ)
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Comparative Government. She spent two years between 1982 and 1984 as a lecturer at Barnet College of Further Education, before becoming an assistant teacher at a Special Educational Unit. During this period Green was increasing active in local politics, becoming secretary and then chair of the Chipping Barnet
Barnet
High Barnet or Chipping Barnet is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, North London, England. It is a suburban development built around a twelfth-century settlement and is located north north-west of Charing Cross. Its name is often abbreviated to Barnet, which is also the name of the London...
Labour Party, before standing in (and losing) the elections for a seat on the area's council in 1986. In 1985, she left her teaching career to become Parliamentary Advisor on European Affairs to the Co-operative Union, a position which she left in 1989 as her political career began.
Early career
Due to the changing political landscape, Green found that her job increasingly saw her lobbying to BrusselsEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, with her particular interest being a directive backed by the co-operative movement creating common standards for food hygiene across Europe. In June 1989, she announced her intention to stand for a seat in the European elections to help ensure the adoption of the draft directive. She visited "most of the 65 local branches" of the constituency of London North
London North (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
and won the seat with a majority of 5,387. She was re-elected to the seat in 1994 with a majority of 48,348.
Green was elected Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP)
European Parliamentary Labour Party
The European Parliamentary Labour Party is an integral part of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament and of the British Labour Party. Labour's Euro Parliamentarians represent their voters so as to advance democracy, social justice, prosperity, peace and sustainable development in the UK,...
in 1993, beating incumbent leader Glyn Ford
Glyn Ford
Glyn Ford was a member of the European Parliament initially for Greater Manchester East, until 1999 and then South West England for the Labour Party and Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party....
. She only served for one year, however, after having been chosen and championed by then Labour leader John Smith
John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
to become the new leader of the PES. Given the strength of the Labour presence in the European socialist movement—the 1994 elections in the UK gave Labour 61 seats, and nearly a third of the 15 party Socialist Group—they were in a strong position to get what they wanted. At the 1994 Party Leaders' Conference in Corfu, a "package deal" was agreed to fill the upcoming political posts, and it was agreed that Green would take the leadership post with strong backing from the Labour contingent.
Ian White, an MEP elected at the same time as Green, said: "Although the parliamentary group formally elected Pauline, the "deal" was put together by the national party leaders. I believe that, had it been an open election, she would have won in any case, hands down, on competence alone."
She held the position for five years (1994–99), and was involved at senior levels of policy making in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and member governments. In 1998 there were rumours that she would stand to be Labour's candidate for Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
. Whilst she expressed an interest in the position, she maintained that she would not be able to commit to the position until after the 1999 leadership elections because of her European commitments.
Controversies
Green was seen as a strong advocate of EU parliamentary and institutional reform: she was vocal in her criticisms of any hint of impropriety, for example calling ex-commissioner Martin Bangemann'sMartin Bangemann
Martin Bangemann is a German politician and a former leader of the FDP . He studied Law in Tübingen and Munich, earned a Dr. jur. in 1962, and qualified as an attorney in 1964...
appointment to Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
telecommunications giant Telefonica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
"sleaze soaked" for the impression it gave that he had used his position in the EC for his own advantage - even though he had broken no rules. However, her own final year as leader saw its own controversy with allegations of corruption against the EC.
One of the Parliament's duties was to discharge the budget, confirming that the year's spending had been in line with the plans originally set by the EC and that the money had been spent honestly and efficiently. However, the parliamentary budget committee decided that it could not fulfill this duty with regard to the 1996 budget until points concerning the reduction of fraud in the transport system had been clarified. For six months, the debate raged, with Green initially supporting the campaign to discharge the budget (whilst calling for more radical change), but only after a group of specialists that included two senior Socialist MEPs announced that there had been a slight improvement. Parties from the centre and the right began to claim that the PES were only supporting their own members, and ultimately the move to discharge the budget was defeated.
It was then that Green asserted that the argument would normally be solved in a national democracy by a vote of confidence: since that option did not exist in EU legislation, she instead tabled a motion of censure against the EC. Green explained that "One of the fundamental reasons for tabling this motion of censure was to decide now - immediately - whether or not the European Commission is able to do its work."
Because of their belief that the EC should be allowed to continue its reform work, Green and the PES announced that they would be voting against their own motion of censure - effectively trying to defeat a call for the sacking of the EC that they had made.
As the argument continued, the parliament also refused to discharge the 1997 budget - and at the same time, allegations of corruption were made against the French commissioner Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson is a French politician. She was the first and so far only woman to have held the office of Prime Minister of France.- French Prime Minister :Cresson was appointed to the prime ministerial post by President François Mitterrand on 15 May 1991...
. Commissioner Paul van Buitenen accused Cresson of having employed her friend and dentist for eight months as a special advisor on the Environment, at a cost of £30,000. The position was described by sub-contractors in sworn statements as a job "for which he is not required to do any work". The EC agreed to launch an enquiry in return for the parliament ending its moves to censure the commission.
The eventual report found that the allegations were correct, and Green joined those calling for Santer to respond promptly or risk losing his own position. A second censure motion was tabled, but before it was voted on the entire EC resigned - although they were still allowed to keep their salaries and jobs as an interim arrangement to electing a new Commission. Green saw the resignation as an opportunity to improve the running of the EU, in particularly the ability of the parliament to veto the appointment of the next head of the Commission. She said: "We have to use this opportunity to keep pushing for more openness, more transparency, more public control and accountability in the way Europe is run. We now have a real opportunity to go to the voters in the June elections and prove to them that the European Parliament has done its job and changed the political culture of Brussels once and for all."
The EU member governments - including Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's - were not keen on extending the Parliament's powers, but on May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
the Amsterdam Treaty
Amsterdam Treaty
The Amsterdam Treaty, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; it made substantial changes to the Maastricht Treaty,...
came into effect, which extended their influence somewhat. The Parliament had the opportunity to vote their approval of new EC head Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
, and did so 392 votes for to 72 against. However, Green's stock was damaged by the long controversy, with even her friends and supporters considering that her handling of the affair did not come across as a coherent strategy, although one commentator at the time did praise the way she had "ridden the Brussels storm with verve and conviction. It was against this background - and allegations that she had improperly used her official car that Green dismissed as a "cheap jibe" that had been blown out of all proportion - that Green had to stand for re-election in her London constituency.
Green retained her seat in the 1999 European Parliament election with a reduced majority of 26,477. This was typical of the Labour Party's performance, with its share of the vote slipping from 44.24% in 1994 to 28.03% causing a resultant reduction in seats from 62 to 29. The European Socialists also did badly in the elections, and lost their dominance of the Parliament, with the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
becoming the largest group in Parliament.
Green was asked by Prime Minister Tony Blair to restand for the Parliamentary Group leadership. However she withdrew when it became clear she faced opposition from Spanish, German and French socialists to allow the brokering of a deal making Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
to become PES president. The following September, she also lost her seat on the Labour National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
, with the slump in her popularity being largely attributed to her earlier handling of the EC "scandal" and Labour's poor performance in the European parliamentary elections.
In November 1999, Green announced that she would be retiring as an MEP to become the first female chief executive of the Co-operative Union, officially taking up the position on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
2000. The decision led to criticism from some quarters, as the mechanics of the electoral system meant that the public would not vote in Green's successor, and instead the next candidate on Labour's list automatically replaced her. Theresa Villiers
Theresa Villiers
Theresa Anne Villiers is a British Conservative Party politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet and the Minister of State for Transport.She was appointed as a Privy Counsellor on 9 June 2010.-Early life:...
, a fellow MEP for the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
said Green's "resignation demonstrates a total lack of regard for the electorate".
Green was caught up in further controversy the following year, regarding the list of voters eligible to decide the Labour candidate for the 2000 London Mayor elections. Complaints were made about Green's inclusion on the list despite her resignation as an MEP with her vote reported as being "worth a thousand times that of any ordinary member".
Co-operation
Green already had a track record in the UK co-operative movement. As well as her status as a Labour and Co-operative MEP and advisory position with the Co-operative Union, she had been a Woodcraft FolkThe Woodcraft Folk
The Woodcraft Folk is a UK-based educational movement for children and young people, and registered charity no. 1073665. The constitutional object of this youth organisation is "to educate and empower young people to be able to participate actively in society, improving their lives and others'...
leader and was made president of the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) in 1999. As an MEP, she had also been elected President of the 1997 Co-operative Congress
Co-operative Congress
The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s...
. She was welcomed to the movement by the 2000 Congress President, Pat Wheatley, who described her as "someone of great wisdom, true co-operative principles" and "a shining example of 'courage under fire'" for her work with the PES.
Co-operative Retail Services
Co-operative Retail Services Limited was the second-largest consumer co-operative society in the UK. In 2000, it was dissolved by its members, merging with the larger Co-operative Wholesale Society, to form the Co-operative Group Ltd.- History :In 1933, CWS formed a retail division tasked with...
to create the Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
, as well as recent efforts by entrepreneur Andrew Regan
Andrew Regan
Andrew Regan is a British-born polar explorer and entrepreneur. He is the chief executive officer of Corvus Capital, an investment company.-Personal life:...
to demutualise
Demutualization
Demutualization is the process by which a customer-owned mutual organization or co-operative changes legal form to a joint stock company. It is sometimes called stocking or privatization. As part of the demutualization process, members of a mutual usually receive a "windfall" payout, in the form...
the CWS. Blair responded favourably to the request, and pledged his support in setting up a Co-operative Commission
Co-operative Commission
The Co-operative Commission was an independent commission set up by Tony Blair at the request of leaders of the British co-operative movement. Its aim was to review the strategy and structures of the sector, with an aim to suggesting ways to develop and modernise the movement, and its members...
.
The Commission was officially launched under chair John Monks
John Monks
John Stephen Monks, Baron Monks is a member of the House of Lords and was the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress in the UK from 1993 until 2003, when he became the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation .-Early life:He attended Ducie Technical High School John...
on 24 February 2000, with Green being invited to serve as one of the 12 commissioners. There was a whispering campaign
Whisper campaign
A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them...
amongst Labour MPs that the Commission was intended to look at the party's funding relationship with the co-operative movement, which Green dismissed as "nonsense. The Commission's final report was published in January 2001, leaving Green to begin the work of co-ordinating the Union's response.
The Union began a "deliberate attempt to secure and celebrate [the] co-operative advantage" by increasing its ties with other organisations across the co-operative movement: they began providing professional and admin services for the United Kingdom Co-operative Council (UKCC) and ICOM, and working with co-operative support organisations across the country to establish the "first ever 'all movement' Co-ordination Movement". This work continued into 2001, with Green using her joint positions in ICOM and the Union to facilitate a merger of the two organisations, bringing together the worker and consumer co-operative sectors that had existed separately for over 100 years. The membership voted in December 2002 in favour of a change in the Union's name to reflect its new make-up and in January 2003 the organisation was officially relaunched as Co-operatives UK.
Green continued to work at "driving a culture change in Co-operatives UK" - for example leading the organisation to become the first co-operative to partner with the National Association of Co-operative Officials (NACO)
National Association of Co-operative Officials
The National Association of Co-operative Officials is a trade union for staff in the co-operative sector in the United Kingdom, principally the Co-operative Group and other retail societies, Co-operatives UK and the Co-operative Party....
as its recognised trade union or successfully opposing recommendations from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
International Accounting Standards Board
The International Accounting Standards Board is an independent, privately funded accounting standard-setter based in London, England.The IASB was founded on April 1, 2001 as the successor to the International Accounting Standards Committee...
that would have seen co-operative members' share capital classed as debt, "destroying" the co-operative advantage.
In October 2002, Green was elected as the President of ICA
International Co-operative Alliance
The International Co-operative Alliance is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895. The ICA maintains the internationally recognised definition of a co-operative...
Europe, the umbrella body for European co-operatives. This led in turn to her becoming co-chair of Co-operatives Europe in November 2006, sharing her duties with Etienne Pflimlin. The organisation was formed by ICA Europe and the Co-ordinating Committee of European Co-operative Organisations (CCACE) to "work together on issues of importance to co-operatives in Europe", following a drive by Green for closer co-operation between the major European co-operative bodies.
Green announced that she intended to retire as chief executive of the organisation in 2009, saying: "I will be 60 at [that time] and I have always intended to retire when I reached that milestone. The Board [of Co-operatives UK] and I agreed that it made sense for me to finish after Co-operative Congress
Co-operative Congress
The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s...
2009, which is, to all intents and purposes, the end of our co-operative year." She was succeeded in November 2009 by Ed Mayo
Ed Mayo
Ed Mayo is Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, the UK trade association for co-operatives. He is the former Chief Executive of the British National Consumer Council and CEO of the NCC's successor, Consumer Focus.-Education:...
.
Green was elected Chair of the Board of Supporters Direct
Supporters Direct
Supporters Direct are an umbrella organisation set up originally by the United Kingdom government to provide support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic representation within football clubs and within football's governing structures...
following her retirement from Co-operatives UK, and also elected President of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA). Following her election, she stood down from her position within Co-operatives Europe.
Honours
In 1988, Green was awarded honorary Doctorates from the University of North LondonUniversity of North London
The University of North London was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University. The former University of North London premises now form the new university's north campus, situated on...
and Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
, and was made Commander of the Order of Honour in 1994 by the President of Greece
President of Greece
The President of the Hellenic Republic , colloquially referred to in English as the President of Greece, is the head of state of Greece. The office of the President of the Republic was established after the Greek republic referendum, 1974 and formally by the Constitution of Greece in 1975. The...
. She has since been awarded the Grand Golden Cross with Star by the President of the Republic of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and been made Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus. In 2003, she was made Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to the Co-operative Movement.
She has been described as "strong, confident and well organised" by Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
, "a refreshing no-nonsense figure" by Phillip Whitehead
Phillip Whitehead
Phillip Whitehead, was a British Labour politician, television producer and writer.Born in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, he was adopted by a local family, and attended Lady Manners School in Bakewell and Exeter College at Oxford University, where he obtained his BA .Whitehead apparently went to...
and "guided by common sense and an antagonism (which amounts almost to contempt) towards the superficialities of political image-making" by Roy Hattersley
Roy Hattersley
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...
.