Deborah Meaden has said that the rising popularity of the Green Party sends a message to the government that it’s ‘not all about Reform’.
Meaden, who has been a vocal advocate of the environment, told This Is Money she ‘felt like we’ve had a government responding very tightly to what’s going on with Reform.’
She said the rising popularity of the Green Party is ‘extremely hopeful’.
‘It’s sent an alternative message that it’s not all about Reform versus Labour. There’s another way,’ Meaden added.
The Green Party elected new leader Zack Polanski last month and claims to have over 128,000 members, putting them behind Labour and Reform in terms of party membership size.
Polanski has faced criticism for his view that Britain should pull out of NATO and spend billions on tackling climate change.
Speaking at the Blue Earth summit last week, Meaden told the audience there was a ‘quiet group of people looking for somewhere to go.’
Eco warrior: Deborah Meaden spoke at the Blue Earth summit last week
The Dragons’ Den star has long been interested in sustainable investment, but has also made some significant changes to her own life.
‘At home, we’ve opened up to nature. We’ve taken the restrictive fences down, we’ve planted hundreds of trees… all of our autumn leaves will be used to mulch or compost or left in piles for nature.’
Her record on Dragons’ Den indicates she puts her money where her mouth is, with high-profile investments, including in sustainable deodorant firm Fussy, among others.
Claims that green investment is dead are not the case, according to Meaden, who says she is ‘asked to talk more than ever about impact investing.’
‘I can only take that as an indicator that it is very much on people’s agenda,’ she says.
‘I certainly think that the generations coming through are very aware of the issues that we face, and certainly if they have wealth, they’re wanting to use it not just to give themselves a good life, but to be part of the change that they want to see in the world.’
For Meaden, the small changes have included a shift in her consumption habits, most significantly going 18 months without buying any clothes.
‘You’d be amazed at what you have in your wardrobe, and you’d be amazed at the different things you can do… It costs less money to buy fewer products. I’ve got an evening dress that was an absolute fortune when I first bought it, I must have worn it over 30 times so it was incredibly good value.
‘You don’t have to deprive yourself of stuff, you just have to think about different ways of using it.’
While Meaden might be a vocal champion of nature, she says she tries not to become ‘tubthumping about it… I do talk about it, but I don’t want to be a pain in the neck.’
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