Green party leadership: London mayoral candidate Sian Berry launches bid to take the reins
2 min read
The Green party's former London mayoral contender Sian Berry has thrown her hat into the ring to succeed Caroline Lucas as Green party co-leader.
Ms Berry will run on a joint ticket with the party's other co-leader Jonathan Bartley in a bid to succeed the party's only MP Ms Lucas, who announced she was standing down last week.
Under Green Party rules the leadership faces re-election every two years, with Ms Lucas taking up her second spell as leader alongside Mr Bartley in 2016.
Ms Berry, who sits on the London Assembly, is a well-known figure in the party after coming third in the 2016 London Mayoral election, hoovering up 5.8% in the first round battle with Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith.
The pair will be looking to build on the party’s record success in last month's local elections, where the Greens won their highest-ever number of councillors at 173.
Announcing her candidacy, Ms Berry said: "I know that Caroline will be a hard act to follow but I’m ready for the challenge. We have the most organised and talented set of people in this party that I’ve ever seen, and hard-working local parties everywhere getting people elected.
"It will be my job to make sure they get the best leadership and policies to talk about on the doorstep, and to grow the practical support and training they get from the party too."
Mr Bartley said of the announcement: "When I was elected as co-leader with Caroline we said we would help build the party and elect more greens.
"We have done that and the Green Party is now firmly established as England’s fourth party.
"I want to continue that work with Sian as we build towards the next vital set of elections."
Writing in the The Guardian earlier this week, Ms Lucas said that her decision to step aside as co-leader 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."
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