On Friday 2 September 2016, the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) kicked-off their three-day autumn Party Conference in Birmingham, electing Natalie Bennett’s successors.
Caroline Lucas, the Party's sole MP, and Jonathan Bartley, the Party’s work and pensions spokesperson, won 86% of first-preference votes. They will work on a joint, job-share ticket.
Amelia Womack was re-elected as sole Deputy leader with 53% of the votes.
The executive team of the Green Party of England and Wales has been renewed as well. It is now composed of: Claire Phipps (Chair), Elizabeth Whitebread and Tamsim Omond (Campaigns Coordinators), Judy Maciejowska (Elections Coordinator), Matt Hawkins, Penny Kemp and Jennifer Nadel (External Communications Coordinators), Emma Carter (Finance Coordinator), Peter Barnett and Paul Jenkins (Internal Communications Coordinators).
All mandates are for a new two-year term.
In their first speech to the Green Party Conference, delivered at the University of Birmingham, Bartley and Lucas said that the Party is uniquely poised to bring forward proposals to tackle the ‘age of insecurity’ plaguing Britain. At the core of their plan is a ‘Green Industrial Strategy’ which, they say, would deliver ‘real security and prosperity’ by creating well paid, low carbon jobs in every part of the country, make Britain a world leader in renewable technologies and give local communities the chance to create their own energy.
The Green Party of England and Wales is one of the oldest Green political parties in the world and has been campaigning for ecological sustainability and social justice for more than 30 years. The Party follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism, promoting ecological sustainability, a fairer economy, a more equal society, and social justice on the global level as well as national level.
On the occasion of the Brexit referendum held in the UK on June 23rd, the GPEW conducted a strong pro-european campaign, mobilising hundreds of thousands of Green supporters.
