The Green surge is sweeping Britain. In October I noted that turning left had helped the Green Party gain a record high of 26,000 members (M Star October 13).

Today membership stands at 50,000 and more than 18,000 new members have joined in January alone. There are also over 8,000 members in Scotland.

Natalie Bennett held an anti-austerity summit with SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Plaid leader Leanne Wood. All three party leaders will now take part in the general election debates.

Biff Vernon, who was party membership secretary in the 1970s (when it was called the Ecology Party) recalled how membership broke through the 200 barrier and the shoebox system of cards had to be replaced by a computer.

So what does this mean for the wider left in Britain? The Socialist Workers Party has attacked the Greens but forgets that rather than moving right like most political parties, we have become more socialist, not less.

From Peter Hain and Owen Jones, advice to Ed Miliband on how to defeat the Greens has been forthcoming. Such contributions have ranged from the subtle to the frankly bitter. Conor Pope from Labour List has suggested that his party can win back Green voters through “less lovebombing, more bombing.”

One is tempted by Conor’s post to suggest that where he claims “vote Green, get blue,” Greens could respond with “Vote Labour, get Trident.”

Richard Seymour of blog Lenin’s Tomb lampoons these “advice” articles, summarising that “What it (Labour) needs to do is shout at, morally blackmail and patronise Green voters a bit more.”

British politics is often portrayed as football. We are arranged into teams, the point is to win and if fans start to become aggressive towards each other then that is to be expected. So should the Green tribe respond in kind to its Labour detractors? It is tempting to do so.

Labour proudly promotes Nato, Trident, tougher migration policies and the need for fiscal prudence. If Labour has been strongly campaigning against the Infrastructure Act currently going through Parliament, which will privatise public space and put corporate growth at the centre of policy making, it’s certainly gone under the radar.

And complaining about Brighton council is not on a par with having a former leader, Tony Blair, who remains a Labour Party member despite being a war criminal.

Rather than continuing in this vein, we need to move beyond politics as football and focus on politics as a means of achieving meaningful social change.

Politics has to move beyond a friend-enemy distinction. Yet there is one distinction which needs to be acknowledged, between those who support and those who oppose neoliberalism.

We need to oppose neoliberalism, which asserts that economics takes precedence over everything and measures economic success in terms of how much we help the rich and powerful, especially corporations. This is done on the assumption that a little gravy drips down to the rest of us.

Labour has been a largely neoliberal party since the untimely death of John Smith in 1994 and there is a four-party consensus including Ukip, the Tories and Lib Dems that puts profit before people.

We need to focus not just on parties but challenging neoliberalism and all its

works, from the private finance initiatives which bankrupt hospitals to Atos oppressing the sick to frackers who would dig under our homes.

The better responses to the Green surge from Labour commenters such as Peter Hain do stress more radical policies, but it’s still about putting your tribe first.

Nationalising rail should be supported, not just as a vote winner but because it’s a good policy that values social need rather than short-term profit.

An ideological challenge is necessary, irrespective of party, and everyone on the left needs to promote alternatives to the kind of crony capitalism that recent neo-liberal governments have celebrated.

Political pluralism is also a necessity. Politics on the left works best in coalition. Diversity is not a secular sin but a positive virtue. The Greens have been most impressive when working with, or at least talking to, others.

The Green Party worked positively with Ken Livingstone, both when he was an independent and later Labour mayor of London. There are a range of criticisms to be levelled at the SNP and to a lesser extent Plaid Cymru, however the fact that three parties can articulate a vision beyond austerity is positive.

The Greek Green Party has gone into electoral coalition with Syriza. No one political organisation is likely to have a monopoly on virtue or wisdom, and different perspectives are necessary for problem solving. As a left Green I am more than happy when left and green ideas win through in other organisations.

We also need to focus on structures. British politics has for too long looked like a process where prime ministers meet billionaires on yachts, take tea or something stronger with them and seek to make their ugly desires come true.

Power is concentrated in Britain and that needs challenging. Our democratic system is top-down. It needs to be transformed to provide real power to local authorities, more proportional elections and decentralisation to regions.

The media is concentrated in the hands of the billionaires who work hard to shape public opinion and rubbish people-centred alternatives. Most shockingly, police infiltration of protest and pressure groups is common.

Bob Lambert, who organised police infiltration of animal rights groups, environmental groups and even the Stephen Lawrence campaign, is just one well-publicised example. So rather than just arguing about how one party can win more votes, let’s think about once elections are won and how change to make Britain a more democratic country can be achieved.

It is said that there are just over 20 constituencies where a Green vote could make the difference between Conservative and Labour victory. Who knows if that Labour claim is true, and if it is that still leaves 620 constituencies.

But if Labour wishes to win it needs to articulate attractive policies rather than blaming others on the left for Miliband’s indifferent poll ratings.

Derek Wall is the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Windsor.