THE “rotten core” of Westminster has to be removed and the Greens are the party for the job, leader Natalie Bennett announced yesterday as she opened this year’s Green Party conference.

In her first address to party members meeting in Bournemouth this weekend, Ms Bennett defined the Greens as the political opponents of climate change, social inequality and an “unfair” electoral system.

Ms Bennett, who led the party through its “surge” and its best ever electoral result, slammed the Conservative government on every one of its flagship policies.

She told a 500-strong audience: “The failings of successive governments in Britain are attracting widespread attention, widespread concern, widespread opposition.

“The United Nations is investigating the Tory government’s treatment of the disabled and breaches of their human rights.

“The world is increasingly questioning the Tory government’s environmental failings.

“Judges will also be questioning more and more the abuses of basic human rights and the destruction of civil liberties in the disastrous Trade Union Bill and the snoopers’ charter.

“Politics is moving in our direction.

“Historians will look back and see 2015 as the year that change started — the year that a fundamental shift in politics saw it move away from the mantra of ‘greed is good, the environment doesn’t matter’ that rose with Margaret Thatcher and will fall with David Cameron.”

Ms Bennett said of Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose campaign arguably cost the Greens around 1,000 members: “I know that some commentators are asking: what’s the difference between Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour and the Greens?

“Communities up and down this country who are dealing with Labour councils know one answer to that.

“They have Labour councils who aren’t listening to them, aren’t meeting their needs, are too often in the pockets of the developers and big business.”

But her enthusiasm for the success of left-coalition Syriza in Greece and the rise of populist Podemos in Spain had a frosty reception from conference delegates.

Almost one-third of those attending this year have joined the party since the beginning of the year.

The Greens’ annual conference continues into the weekend with the party’s only MP Caroline Lucas expected to speak on Sunday.