Caroline Lucas set to quit as Green Party co-leader
2 min read
The Green Party’s co-leader Caroline Lucas has announced she will be stepping down from the position later this year.
The party’s first and only MP has said she will step down from her post in the autumn ahead of a fresh leadership election.
Under Green Party rules the leadership faces re-election every two years, with Ms Lucas taking up her second spell as leader alongside Jonathan Bartley in 2016.
Writing for The Guardian, Ms Lucas she her decision was driven by a desire to see new party talent rise through the ranks.
“I think making space for other people at this point is a straightforward thing to do and a good thing to do," she said. "We have a wonderful array of talent in the party and I would love the opportunity for more of that to be showcased.”
Ms Lucas first took over the leadership of the party in 2008, quickly becoming the party’s most recognisable figure. She was replaced in 2012 by Natalie Bennett, who led the party through a bruising general election campaign, before stepping down again in 2016.
It is believed that Jonathan Bartley will seek re-election for the co-leader position, possibly standing on a joint ticket.
Ms Lucas said that her return to the party in 2016 was driven by the threat of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party squeezing the Green’s traditional left-wing support.
“It’s no secret that we knew Jeremy Corbyn was going to take a lot of the space that we’ve been carving out for ourselves, so these were going to be challenging times and perhaps it was more important than ever to have at least one of our leaders in parliament,” she said.
But Ms Lucas said achieving their best result in last month’s local council elections was proof that the party could weather the storm.
She added: “We have not been eclipsed by the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, but instead have used these unique circumstances to push for even more radical change, and to put our boldest policies yet before the public."
Ms Lucas is set to bow out from the role in September, but she urged the party to continue to be an “insurgent force for good, consistently asking the big questions that matter.”
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