Five Leadership Bids Have Been Announced In Green Party Election As Nominations Close
Nominations have closed for the Green Party's leadership contest
3 min read
Three joint tickets and two individual candidates are confirmed to be in the running for leadership of the Green Party after nominations closed.
The leadership contest was triggered by the early resignation of former co-leaders Jonathan Bartley and Sian Berry who both stepped down from their roles last month.
Under party rules an individual can run for the leadership, or two people can stand together for a co-leadership role.
Anti-fracking campaigner Tina Rothery and former Green Party European election candidate Martin Hemingway were the first pair to announce their bid pledging to focus on the "core concerns of the Green movement and the Green Party".
They were followed by the party's current deputy leader Amelia Womack, who announced she would be running alongside Extinction Rebellion co-founder Tamsin Omond.
The pair have set out their plan to focus on increasing Green representation in local and national government, claiming their ambition is to get eight to ten new Green MPs elected to Westminster by 2030.
Speaking after their bid was announced, Omond said: "There is a stranded majority of people who are desperate to do something about the climate emergency, who are feeling anxious, who are doing everything they can...They need a national political party that has transformative policies, and the Green party is here for this moment."
The fresh leadership contest comes in the wake of record success for the party in May's local elections which saw the party scoop 88 new seats.
Earlier this week a joint bid was launched by former deputy leader Adrian Ramsay and Green Party councilor and former wind farm engineer Carla Denyer.
Ramsay, who said he was inspired to return to frontline politics in the wake of the recent IPCC report on climate change, said the pair would focus on getting more Greens elected into seats as the "best way of securing change".
They added they were "standing on a platform of putting compassion back into politics: compassion for each other, our communities and the natural world".
Former deputy leader Shahrar Ali also announced his individual bid for leadership on Tuesday, saying he was "standing through necessity".
He added: "We are the last generation able to save the planet from ourselves. Despite decades of knowing that we are living unsustainably, we carry on trying to have our cake and eat it – with a return to post-Covid short-haul flights and overconsumption."
Former actor Ashley Gunstock, who ran unsuccessfully for leadership in 2008, also announced his candidacy on Tuesday, saying his "overriding desire is to address the issue of climate change and avert the otherwise impending catastrophe".
Speaking after nominations closed, acting party leader Sian Berry said: "The Green Party is so proud of its democratic roots and the election for who leads and represents us is one of the biggest choice our members make.
"This is a crucial moment for the party with elections that can put more Greens into positions of power on the horizon."
She added: "I say to every member that your voice is absolutely essential during this election. New members who join before 27 August can also vote, so if you are thinking of joining us at this huge moment for Green politics around the world, now is the time."
Voting for party members will open on 2 September and is expected to run until 23 September.
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