Huddersfield councillor Andrew Cooper announces Deputy Leadership bid
Kirklees Green Party councillor Andrew Cooper has fired the starting gun on the party’s Deputy Leadership race after becoming the first to announce he’s running to be Deputy Leader of the Green Party.
Andrew Cooper announced on social media on Thursday morning that he was running for one of the two slots – or one if two co-leaders are elected – available for Deputy Leaders. It follows the announcement earlier this week that Caroline Lucas MP and Green DWP Spokesperson Jonathan Bartley would stand to be co-leaders.
Cooper is a long-standing Green Party councillor on Kirklees Council (Newsome Ward), and is the Green Party’s National Energy Spokesperson, having led successful efforts in Kirklees to insulate 50,000 homes across Kirklees. Cooper is a lifetime Green member who joined in 1988, and currently sits on the EU’s Committee of the Regions, representing Yorkshire.
He hopes to take the leadership debate outside of London, in what may become a South East-led contest.
Current Deputy Leaders Amelia Womack and Shahrar Ali have not yet announced whether they will re-stand, although there are strong rumours that both will, meaning it could be a hotly-contested race for the Deputy slot/s.
Andrew Cooper told Bright Green:
“I’m standing for election as Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales to give a strong voice for the Regions in our Leadership Team.
“I am keen to see the Green Party grow as a more effective electoral and campaigning force. I have the experience and ability to help make that happen. Never has this been more necessary than now with both our local and global environments increasingly threatened by Governments in the UK and around the world. Many people are increasingly insecure with lack of access to housing, trapped in low waged jobs and many young people saddled with thousands of pounds worth of student debt.
“We need to clearly put across to people that the Green Party is offering a positive sustainable vision of a more secure future in an increasingly uncertain world. We won’t do that alone. We will need to collaborate with other organisations, find allies and even work with Parties who we find ourselves opposed to at a local and national level. The experience I have as a long standing Councillor in one of the largest Councils in the Country will be a useful asset to the Green Party Leadership Team. We need more Greens elected with the skills and knowledge to get Green policies implemented at the local and national level.
“I am looking forward to the campaign and to meeting as many Green Party members as possible over the next few months.”
Cooper, a former chair of the Association of Green Councillors, has been endorsed by Rupert Read – previously thought to be a potential deputy or leadership candidate but who ruled himself out last month.
Nominations for the Leadership posts opened on June 1st and close on June 30th. The result of the Leadership and Deputy Leadership Elections will be announced at Green Party Conference in Birmingham on September 2nd. All fully paid up members of the Green Party of England and Wales will be eligible to vote in the elections.
Bright Green will be covering the whole election – with exclusive insights into the race – so make sure to follow the site over the coming months.
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we need candidate to run for leader to highlight the folly of lucas and bartley public begging for specil pleading with labour party, i have been in favour of shahrar ali standing from the start and if he rejected this rubbish i hope he would get more votes. basically any candidte prepared to stand up for the green party please step up,
Good luck Alan, sanding for the right job. I hope someone from the north is more brave than Andrew and makes a pitch for Leader. Of course we all love Caroline but there is a danger we will end up with a very boring and samey leadership. Think about it.
Bravery? I believe it’s important to have someone in the Leadership Team who has a skill set and background that is based on practical experience of local govt, fighting and winning elections against both Labour and the Tories and also having practical experience of implementing Green policies. Being based in the North and having a different background from our potential Co-Leaders would be an asset I could bring. Being in the Leadership Team and winning on my own merits would be a powerful mandate. Am I a ‘brave’ politician? I’ll leave that for others to decide based on my record. I do know however that ‘brave’ decisions by politicians are not always the right ones.
Andrew, I think Ben is suggesting you may be selling yourself a bit short by only standing for the deputy leadership when you would make an excellent candidate for leader.
Personally, I wouldn’t say this is a matter of bravery – there’s also wisdom in not standing in the way of a steamroller. But it’s a shame we aren’t likely to see a competitive leadership election, featuring Greens with a track record of success and from around the country rather than a coronation of Team Bartcas (Jonaline? Carothan? BLucas?).
The deputy race will be interesting 🙂
Actually I represent the Local Government Association Independent group on the EU Committtee of the Regions. This Group represents Independent, Green and UKIP Cllrs. So I guess I’m Nigel Farage’s representative on Local Govt in the EU. Fortunately I don’t think he knows this.
I actually announced my Deputy Leader bid more than two weeks before Andrew Cooper did, so I actually fired that starting gun, and here is proof: http://greensocialistalan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/i-will-run-for-green-party-deputy.html
Wikipedia knew about my declaration before it knew about Andy’s.