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Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
Head of the Green Party in England and Wales
Head of the Green Party in England and Wales
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales |
| image | File:Zack Polanski (cropped).jpg |
| incumbent | Zack Polanski |
| incumbentsince | 2 September 2025 |
| appointer | Members of the Green Party of England and Wales |
| appointer_qualified | through leadership elections held biennially |
| precursor | Principal Speakers |
| formation | 5 September 2008 |
| first | Caroline Lucas |
| deputy | Rachel Millward |
| Mothin Ali |
Mothin Ali
The Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales is the most senior political figure within the Green Party of England and Wales. The role was introduced alongside that of Deputy Leader in 2008. Prior to this, the party's public spokespersons were principal speakers. There were two principal speakers, one female and one male, who were elected annually at the Green Party's Autumn Conference and held no vote on the Green Party Executive (GPEx).
A referendum passed on 30 November 2007 that abolished the posts of principal speakers and a leader and deputy were elected at the party's next autumn conference on 5 September 2008.
Role and history
The principal speakers performed the public and media roles undertaken by the leaders of more conventional political parties. Green parties often consider joint leadership of this kind to embody the widely held Green beliefs in consensus decision making and gender balance. It also symbolises their belief in the need for a society in which people are empowered and involved in making the decisions which affect them. In the party's Philosophical Basis, it states that the Green Party "reject[s] the hierarchical structure of leaders and followers, and, instead advocate[s] participatory politics" and it is "for this reason" that the Green Party has eschewed an individual leader.
There were six principal speakers in the UK Green Party until 1991, when changes introduced by the Green 2000 grouping reduced this to two and streamlined the organisation of the party. This left a system with which neither side in the 2007 leadership referendum was happy.
2007 Leadership referendum
At the party's 2007 spring conference in Swansea, members voted to hold a cross-party referendum on whether the posts should be changed to leader and deputy leader (with the option for co-leaders if two candidates chose to run together and were gender balanced, in the event of which there would be no deputy leader). The new system would allow the leader and deputy (or co-leaders) to vote on GPEx and, rather than being elected annually (like the principal speakers), the posts would be elected every two years. Provisions for recalling the leader and deputy were articulated. Despite the controversial nature of this issue, many participants, such as Siân Berry, were struck by the how "constructive" the debate turned out to be.
On Friday 30 November 2007 the ballots were counted and members voted 73% to 27% in favour of the new leadership model, with a 48.3% turnout of Green Party members.
The 'Pro-Leader' side – Green Yes
Supporters of the 'Green Yes' campaign for a yes vote in the referendum included the then-principal speaker Caroline Lucas MEP, Siân Berry, Darren Johnson AM (a Green member of the London Assembly), environmental commentator and Green member Mark Lynas, former principal speaker Jonathon Porritt, councillors from Lewisham, Brighton, Norwich, Leicester and Lancaster, and members of the Green Party Executive (GPEx), including Jim Killock (external communications officer), elections coordinator Peter Cranie and Khalid Hussenbux, the party's financial coordinator.
The Green Yes campaign believed that the Green Party needed a leader to reach its potential and that, if the party did not reach its potential, it would be "selling-short our planet and everything on it". They suggested that the party's success has been too slow and that "a leader would help set direction, political focus and make sure the party gets the resources to grow". The campaign hoped that having a Leader would be "about empowering the party" and "about accountability", in that a Leader would "mean we can identify who to hold to account when things need changing". The group added that other Green Parties in the world had leaders and remained "just as Green as the rest of us".
Mark Lynas, in several editions of his New Statesman blog, further claimed that the name 'Principal Speaker' was not transparent to the public, that it wasted valuable time in explaining the system to the media and that it lacked credibility. Darren Johnson characterized the lack of single leader as "just a ridiculous barrier in terms of getting our really important message across".
The 'Anti-Leader' side – Green Empowerment
Supporters of the 'Green Empowerment' campaign for a no vote in the leadership referendum included the then-Principal Speaker Derek Wall, Jenny Jones AM (a Green member of the London Assembly), the late Timothy Beaumont (Green member of the House of Lords), prominent human rights campaigner and Green member Peter Tatchell, Noel Lynch (London Green Party Coordinator and former London Assembly member), councillors from Scarborough, Lewisham, York, Norwich and Hackney, and members of the Green Party Executive (GPEx), including Campaigns Coordinator, Tim Summers, and Pete McAskie (Management Coordinator). Some members, like Matt Sellwood, while in favour of a Leader system in principle, were opposed to the current referendum because the term of reelection would be extended to two years.
Supporters of Green Empowerment wanted to "uphold the Green Party's long-standing commitment to non-hierarchical structures and 'grassroots' democracy" through "collective leadership". They believed that a single leader "would not only draw attention away from other speakers and the wider Party, but would bring with it risks that the other parties in this country are all too well aware of". The campaign focused on retaining gender balance in party structures, and avoiding the dilution of their radical policies. They focused on success under the Principal Speaker system, seen in the steady buildup of support from the low point of the 1992 general election to the situation at the time of the referendum, where the party has over 100 councilors along with two members of the European Parliament and two members of the London Assembly.
Derek Wall countered pro-leader arguments by stating that "if you are a clear speaker, there's no problem getting coverage and explaining the party's views." He was concerned by the history of past political parties that started off as being participatory until they adopted a single leader system in which the members became "puppets". Wall also opposed the reduction in numbers of Principal Speakers from six to two in 1992, as advocated by the Green 2000 group.
Party Leader era
In September 2008 Caroline Lucas was elected as the party's first leader. Lucas was reelected in 2010 but chose not to stand in 2012, when Natalie Bennett was elected her successor. After Bennett stood down in 2016 Lucas returned as leader, this time sharing the position with Jonathan Bartley.
In 2018, Siân Berry replaced Lucas as co-leader, with Bartley continuing in the role.
In July 2021, Bartley announced he would be standing down as the party's co-leader at the end of the month, triggering the 2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election. Berry remained as acting leader, but decided not to stand in the leadership election due to her concerns over the party's message on trans rights. In her statement, she cited unspecified spokesperson appointments as being inconsistent with her pledge to support trans equality.
Leaders
Principal Speakers (1990–1992)
Prior to 1992 six principal speakers were elected annually.
- Sara Parkin
- Jim Berreen
- Andrew Simms
- Jean Lambert
- David Spaven
- Derek Wall
Principal Speakers (1992–2008)
| Year | Male principal speaker | Female principal speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Feb–Sep 1992 | Richard Lawson | Jean Lambert |
| 1992–1993 | Mallen Baker | |
| 1993–1994 | John Cornford | Jan Clark |
| 1994–1995 | David Taylor | |
| 1995–1996 | Peg Alexander | |
| 1996–1997 | ||
| 1997–1998 | Mike Woodin | - |
| 1998–1999 | Jean Lambert | |
| 1999–2000 | Margaret Wright | |
| 2000–2001 | ||
| 2001–2002 | Darren Johnson | |
| 2002–2003 | ||
| 2003–2004 | Mike Woodin | Caroline Lucas |
| 2004–2005 | Keith Taylor | |
| 2005–2006 | ||
| 2006–2007 | Derek Wall | Siân Berry |
| 2007–2008 | Caroline Lucas |
Party leadership (2008–present)
| Leader | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Election |
| [[File:Caroline Lucas 2010.jpg | 60px]] | Caroline Lucas | |
| (1960–) | |||
| MEP for South East England (before 2010) | |||
| MP for Brighton Pavilion (from 2010) | 5 September 2008 | 3 September 2012 | |
| [[File:Natalie Bennett (2015).jpg | 80x80px]] | Natalie Bennett | |
| (1966–) | 3 September 2012 | 2 September 2016 | |
| [[File:Caroline Lucas MP.jpg | 80x80px]] | Caroline Lucas | |
| (1960–) | |||
| MP for Brighton Pavilion | [[File:Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley, 2018 (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Jonathan Bartley |
| (1971–) | |||
| [[File:Siân Berry, 2018 (cropped).jpg | 85x85px]] | Siân Berry | |
| (1974–) | |||
| Member of the London Assembly | 4 September 2018 | 31 July 2021 | |
| Siân Berry served as Acting Leader during this interim, following the resignation of Jonathan Bartley. | |||
| [[File:Carla Denyer MP portrait cropped.jpg | 60px]] | Carla Denyer | |
| (1985–) | |||
| MP for Bristol Central (from 2024) | [[File:Adrian Ramsay MP portrait cropped.jpg | 60px]] | Adrian Ramsay |
| (1981–) | |||
| MP for Waveney Valley (from 2024) | |||
| [[File:Green Party Group Shot 6 (cropped2).jpg | 80x80px]] | Zack Polanski | |
| (1982–) | |||
| Member of the London Assembly | 2 September 2025 | Incumbent |
Timeline
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 Period = from:01/01/2008 till: TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late PlotArea = top:10 bottom:20 right:130 left:20 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:01/01/2008 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2008
Define $today =
Colors = id:leader value:rgb(0.20,0.75,0.10)
BarData = bar:Lucas bar:Bennett bar:Bartley bar:Berry bar:Ramsay bar:Denyer bar:Polanski
PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Lucas from: 05/09/2008 till: 03/09/2012 color:leader from: 02/09/2016 till: 04/09/2018 color:leader text:"Caroline Lucas"
bar:Bennett from: 03/09/2012 till: 02/09/2016 color:leader text:"Natalie Bennett"
bar:Bartley from: 02/09/2016 till:31/07/2021 color:leader text:"Jonathan Bartley"
bar:Berry from: 04/09/2018 till:01/10/2021 color:leader text:"Siân Berry"
bar:Ramsay from: 01/10/2021 till:02/09/2025 color:leader text:"Adrian Ramsay"
bar:Denyer from: 01/10/2021 till:02/09/2025 color:leader text:"Carla Denyer"
bar:Polanski from: 02/09/2025 till: end color:leader text:"Zack Polanski"
Deputy Leadership (2008–present)
| Deputy Leader | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Election | ||
| [[File:AdrianRamsay.jpg | 60px]] | Adrian Ramsay | |||
| (1981–) | 5 September 2008 | 3 September 2012 | |||
| [[File:Will Duckworth (cropped).jpg | 80x80px]] | Will Duckworth | |||
| (1954–) | 3 September 2012 | 1 September 2014 | |||
| [[File:Shahrar Ali, 2018 (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Shahrar Ali | [[File:Amelia Womack portrait.jpg | 60px]] | Amelia Womack(1985–) |
| [[File:Amelia Womack portrait.jpg | 60px]] | Amelia Womack(1985–) | 31 August 2016 | 7 September 2022 | |
| [[File:Zack Polanski, Green Party London Assembly Member (cropped2).jpg | 80x80px]] | Zack Polanski | |||
| (1982–) | 7 September 2022 | 2 September 2025 | |||
| [[File:MothinAli.jpg | 60px]] | Mothin Ali | [[File:Rachel Millward (cropped).png | 60px]] | Rachel Millward(1977–) |
Election results
2025
Main article: 2025 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election
| Candidate | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zack Polanski | 20,411 | 84.6% | ||||||
| Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns | 3,705 | 15.4% | ||||||
| Re-open nominations | 149 | 0.6% |
2021
Main article: 2021 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election
| Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | Votes | % | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay | 5,062 | 44 | 6,274 | 62 | ||||||||||||||
| Tamsin Omond and Amelia Womack | 3,465 | 30 | 3,902 | 38 | ||||||||||||||
| Shahrar Ali | 2,422 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Martin Hemingway and Tina Rothery | 342 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ashley Gunstock | 212 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Re-open Nominations | 22 | 0.2 |
2020
| Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | Votes | % | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Bartley and Siân Berry | 3,000 | 48.9% | 4,238 | 57.5% | ||||||||||
| Rosi Sexton | 1,978 | 26.9% | 2,618 | 35.5% | ||||||||||
| Shahrar Ali | 1,735 | 23.6% | ||||||||||||
| Re-open nominations | 45 | 0.6% |
2018
| Candidate | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Bartley and Siân Berry | 6,329 | 75.5 | ||||||||
| Shahrar Ali | 1,466 | 17.5 | ||||||||
| Leslie Rowe | 495 | 5.9 | ||||||||
| Re-open Nominations | 89 | 1.1 |
2007
| Female Principal Speaker | Candidate | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Lucas | 1,190 | 78.0 | |||||
| Jenny Jones | 335 | 22.0 |
| Male Principal Speaker | Candidate | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Wall | 752 | 49.6 | |||||||
| Darren Johnson | 625 | 41.3 | |||||||
| Ashley Gunstock | 138 | 9.1 |
2006
The Female Principal Speaker post was won by Siân Berry, without a contest.
| Male Principal Speaker election | Candidate | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Wall | 767 | 52.1 | |||||
| Keith Taylor | 705 | 47.9 |
2004
The Female Principal Speaker post was won by Caroline Lucas, without a contest.
| Male Principal Speaker election | Candidate | Votes | % | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | Green Party of England and Wales}}" | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Taylor | 52 | ||||||
| John Phillips | 42 |
Chairs
:1990: Mallen Baker, John Laker and Judy Maciejowska :1991: John Laker, John Norris and Sara Parkin :1992: Sara Parkin :1993: John Norris :1994: Jean Lambert :1995: John Morrissey :1996: Jenny Jones :1998: Alan Francis :2000: Penny Kemp :2003: Hugo Charlton :2006: Richard Mallender :2008: James Humphreys :2009: Jayne Forbes :2011: Jo Steranka :2012: Tim Dawes :2014: Richard Mallender :2016: Clare Phipps :2018: Liz Reason :2022: Jon Nott
Regional variations
The leader of the Wales Green Party is Anthony Slaughter, who was elected as the party's leader in December 2018. Some regional and local groups have adopted a gender balance principle and emulated the Principal Speaker structure, including the LSE Students' Union Green Party, who have a Female and Male Co-Chair.
References
References
- "The Green Party of England and Wales' ''Philosophical Basis''". Policy.greenparty.org.uk.
- Wall, Derek, ''Weaving a Bower Against Endless Night: An Illustrated History of the Green Party'', 1994
- "Green Yes Website – Copy of the Full Motion to Conference on Creating a Leader and Deputy Leader or Co-Leaders".
- Berry, Sian. (2007-03-26). "Siân Berry's ''New Statesman'' Blog – ''A leader for the Greens?''". [[New Statesman.
- (December 2007). "Leadership referendum result".
- [http://www.greenyes.org Green Yes Website]
- "Mark Lynas' ''New Statesman'' Blog – ''Even Greens need leaders''". [[New Statesman.
- (2007-03-26). "Politics | ''Greens consider getting a leader''". [[BBC News Online.
- "Green Empowerment Website". Greenempowerment.org.uk.
- (31 May 2018). "Green leaders: who came before Caroline Lucas?". [[BBC News Online.
- (5 July 2021). "Jonathan Bartley: Green Party co-leader to stand down". [[BBC News Online.
- (14 July 2021). "Sian Berry quits as Green party leader in dispute over trans rights". [[The Guardian]].
- (October 2021). "BREAKING: Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay elected as Green Party co-leaders". Bright Green.
- [http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news-archive/1602.html Election results announced], Green Party of England and Wales, 24 November 2006
- "[http://www.brightonhovegreens.org/news/2004/11/03/caroline-lucas-and-keith-taylor-returned-as-greens-principal-speakers/ Caroline Lucas & Keith Taylor returned as Greens' Principal Speakers]", Brighton & Hove Green Party, 3 November 2004
- "[https://www.greenparty.org.uk/archive/news-archive/1670.html Caroline Lucas and Keith Taylor continue in party's top post]", Green Party of England and Wales, 4 November 2004
- "About Anthony Slaughter".
- "LSE". Young Greens.
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