Green Party ‘reshuffle’ 2016 – Greens announce new spokespeople
Today, the Green Party of England and Wales announced a new set of spokespeople, who represent the Greens on different policy areas, and can be seen as making up the Green Party’s ‘front bench’.
Notable changes from the last set of spokespeople, which featured lead candidates ahead in last year’s Westminster election, include:
- Two thirds of the party’s spokespeople are now women, up from a 50/50 gender split last year
- One fifth of the party’s spokespeople are Black and Ethnic Minority (BAME) people, the highest ever amount: Shahrar Ali, Samir Jeraj, Elaha Walizadeh, Rashid Nix, and Esther Obiri-Darko
- The splitting up of the role of Equalities Spokesperson, previously held by Benali Hamdache, into separate roles for Equalities for Women, LGBTIQ, and POC (People of Colour)
- The appointment of Larry Sanders, brother of US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, as the spokesperson for Health & Social Care
- The appointment of Samir Jeraj and Aimee Challenor, both involved in Bright Green, as spokespeople for Housing and Equalities (LGBTIQ), respectively
The full list of spokespeople is as follows:
- Leader: Natalie Bennett
- Deputy Leader & Culture, Media, and Sport: Amelia Womack
- Deputy Leader and Home Affairs: Shahrar Ali
- Wales: Alice Hooker-Stroud
- Economy & Finance: Molly Scott Cato MEP
- Justice: Charley Pattison
- Migration: Jean Lambert MEP
- Health & Social Care: Larry Sanders
- Education: Vix Lowthion
- Peace & Defence: Rebecca Johnson
- Transport: Caroline Russell
- Business, Innovation & Skills: Rachel Collinson
- Work and Pensions: Jonathan Bartley
- Environment & Climate Change: Caroline Lucas MP
- Science & Technology: Esther Obiri-Darko
- Energy: Andrew Cooper
- Equalities (Women): Sarah Cope
- Equalities (LGBTIQ): Aimee Challenor
- Equalities (POC): Rashid Nix
- Disability: Mags Lewis
- Housing: Samir Jeraj
- Animals: Keith Taylor MEP
- Local Government: Tony Dyer
- International Development: Elaha Walizadeh
You can find out more about each of the spokespeople here: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/people/green-party-spokespeople/
The rural affairs issue is vital to Greens when pretty much all our sustainability issues are related to production and development of rural infrastructure and economy …. key area
What’s pathetic about this article is that it spins positive changes the party has done into tokenistic reductionist rubbish with the percentages of women / BME etc. Somethings things should just speak for themselves -like the experience of the people.
We need a Northern Headquarters and a rural affairs spokesperson. In Eastern Region we have discussed developing a ‘rural narrative’ and hope to have a regional spokesperson for this. It’s possible we need also a spokesperson for ‘post industrial areas’ where the environmental and social issues are particularly acute.
May I suggest that for the future you remove the confusion between these terms
POC (People of Colour) and Black and Ethnic Minority (BAME) people
Stop emphasizing skin colour and simply refer to ‘Ethnic Minorities’, a phrase that captures all of the above, plus white minorities, such as East Europeans, The Cornish and other Celts.
Good to see so many people working for the Green Party in various different areas, this is very encouraging,
I hope a lot more effort is put into showing the benefits of remaining in Europe, even if there are many faults that do need sorting out, perhaps a person could be found to fill this role??
A magician!
Who will be responsible for biodiversity…there’s environment and animals but who is responsible for woodlands, wild plants, insects, birds, marine species, national parks, etc.
I’m wondering how representation of people across the class divide stacks up after this reshuffle? Was representation of workibg class people fiscussed during the process? The equalities jobs have not addressed social class yet this is the main area where discrimination and prejudice against working class people is rife and growing. How else could a cabinet member propose the disenfranchisement of people on benefits today?
The most under represented group in parliament are working class. Over a million people are using foodbanks.
Things are getting worse gor working class people.
Is the Green Party addressing this reality when it can’t even appoint an equality officer to address class inequalities?
There’s a practical point about the need for more northern voices and that is media coverage. With large parts of the BBC now based in Manchester and regional TV and radio opportunities having us northern types represented just makes sense.
So… we still don’t have a rural affairs or a food and agriculture spokespeople? Poor show. Glad to see more of a mix of people featured (although all rather London/South-East centric).
Unfortunately, no, even though green policies work very well in rural areas and ethical and sustainable food & agriculture is a key part of green living and tackling artificial climate change. Industrial farming, especially with livestock raised for meat, is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the UK and elsewhere, for example.
I agree we need a rural affairs, food and agriculture rep.
Yes we do. It’s just that the list here was incomplete!
I’m the newly selected agriculture spokesman. A new category.
FYI I’m from Somerset. Yes a southern imbalance but having said that we do also have a large % of the membership. I’ll be treating all areas equally.
Keith Taylor has some animal responsibility.
The next balance that needs to be struck is regional. Of the 24, 4 do not indicate a location, there is one Yorkshire & the Humber, no one obviously NE or NW or Eastern, 1 each East and West Midlands, two Wales, but nine from London, and the rest SE and SW.