Green Party announces Jonathan Bartley and Sian Berry as new leaders
4 September 2018
* Green members vote Jonathan Bartley and Sian Berry new co-leaders
* Amelia Womack re-elected for third term as deputy
* Jonathan Bartley: “We are more determined than ever to become the third political party in Britain”
* Sian Berry: “The Green Party is the opposite of vapid, old school centrist politics”
Green Party members have voted Jonathan Bartley and Sian Berry new co-leaders of the party after an internal election this summer.
Bartley and Berry have launched their leadership by pledging to take the party on the course to become the “third political party in Britain” and get a Green in every council chamber.
The pair said their party will stand as “the opposite of vapid, old school centrist politics” and promised to put forward “bright Green ideas” to answer the big challenges of our time – from Brexit to climate breakdown and the housing crisis, to automation and the broken world of work.
They also promised “fiercer Green resistance” on the frontline of the fight against the destruction of projects from fracking to HS2, and the harm of practices like deportation and indefinite detention.
Bartley has led the opposition on Lambeth council since being elected a Streatham councillor in May this year. Berry was elected Green London Assembly member in 2016, when she also came third in the London mayoral race. She has been a Camden councillor since 2014. They were elected by the Green Party membership after an internal election over the summer.
Amelia Womack was re-elected deputy leader of the party for a third term and will continue work on women’s rights, including the campaign to make misogyny a hate crime, as well as work on sustainable communities and the environment.
New co-leaders Bartley and Berry won with 6,239 of a total 8,379 votes cast. Contenders Shahrar Ali and Leslie Rowe received 1,466 and 495 votes respectively. New deputy leader Womack won with 3,981 of 7,369 total votes cast.
Jonathan Bartley said:
“We’re proud to lead a party with a track record on the right side of history and are ready to mobilise a fiercer Green resistance than ever before.
“In council chambers across the country Greens are leading a political revolt against the status quo. We are more determined than ever to take the party to the next level. We want to take the Green Party on a course to become the third political party in Britain, building on this year’s local election success to get a Green on every council in England and Wales.
“But the Green Party knows politics isn’t confined to council chambers or the halls of Westminster. When faced with the environmental destruction of fracking or the spiralling costs of HS2, or the inhumanity of indefinite detention and forced removals of refugees and migrants, we are not afraid to join protestors putting their bodies on the line for what is right.”
Sian Berry said:
“We’re excited to take on leading a buoyant Green Party at this crucial time for our country and party. With Brexit on the horizon and our planet burning, the last thing people need is the stale centrism of the past, which brought us austerity and privatisation – and totally failed to tackle climate breakdown or give people real security and quality of life.
“The Green Party is the opposite of vapid, old school centrist politics, and we are ready to shout louder than ever before about the bright Green ideas needed to face the huge challenges in the world today.
“We will be championing a People’s Vote on Brexit, tackling climate breakdown, ensuring everyone has the right to a safe warm home, and fulfilling work that translates to more time off with our families, not more unemployment as automation grows. We are the only party who can be trusted to stand up for citizens in our nations of England and Wales, instead of the interests of big business or millionaires.”