The Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, who campaigns against fracking and the onshore oil and gas industry, has announced she will not fight the next election.
Ms Lucas, the Green’s only MP, was arrested in August 2013 at a protest against oil drilling by Cuadrilla at Balcombe . She was cleared of all charges the following year.
After her acquittal, she told DrillOrDrop the policing policy for the Balcombe protests had been “perverse” and “disproportionate”. She said “legitimate protest was being criminalised by oppressive policing in an attempt to silence dissent”. Link to interview and transcript
This morning, she sent a message of support to Surrey residents bringing a legal challenge at the High Court against gas drilling. In it she said:
“Climate science could not be any clearer. Fossil fuels need to stay in the ground if we are to stand any chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5C.”
She described the government’s approval of the drilling scheme in the village of Dunsfold as “reckless” and “staggeringly short-sighted”. She said:
“Drilling in Dunsfold will not bring down energy bills or increase energy security.
“In the name of democracy and a liveable future I am pleased to support this judicial review.”
Open letter
In 2010 #Brighton Pavilion made history by electing me UK’s 1st Green MP & it’s been the honour of my life. My open letter to residents & friends explains why I’m not standing at next General Election. With love & gratitude, I hope I've done you proud 👇https://t.co/H3QwRffE2x pic.twitter.com/GEavTgkgqJ
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) June 8, 2023
Earlier this morning, Ms Lucas tweeted an open letter to her Brighton Pavilion constituents, in which she said she’d not been able to focus as much as she’d like on the nature and climate emergencies:
“As these threats to our precious planet become ever more urgent, I have struggled to spend the time I want on these accelerating crises.”
She added:
“My determination to trying to make change is stronger than ever.”
Ms Lucas has held her seat for 13 years and has served on parliament’s environmental audit committee since 2010.
She was leader of the Green Party from 2008-2012 and co-leader from 2016-2018.
DRILL OR DROP? 
What a great woman, totally honest and genuine , it’s been a privilege to have met her .
What a loss to the party, the constituency, the country, and to politics in general! What a loss to integrity in public life! What a loss to us all – a politician willing to speak truth to power! Thank you, Caroline.