Image showing five GPEx candidates

Nominations for the next leadership team of the Green Party of England and Wales open on June 1. Outside of the main race for the leadership and deputy leadership, nine other positions on the party’s executive (GPEx) are up for election. And already candidates are throwing their hats into the ring.

On May 27, Kai Taylor announced his intention to stand for the position of elections coordinator. Taylor is a Green councillor in Knowsley, and has placed opposition to electoral alliances at the fore of his campaign. Speaking to Bright Green, Taylor said:

I’m standing because I believe I have the experience and the skills necessary to radically transform and professionalise our electoral strategy. It’s so important we move on from the Progressive Alliance and establish the Green Party as a serious political force.

Taylor continued:

As chair of Knowsley Green Party I’ve ran the campaigns to elect three borough councillors and nineteen town councillors taking control of two town councils.

The elections coordinator is responsible for coordinating the election strategy of the party.

Taylor’s candidacy prompted a number of other people to announce their intention to stand in the forthcoming elections.

For the international coordinator position, Sam Murray and Alice Hubbard have announced their intention to stand as a job share. Murray has previously served as both the international officer and the co-chair of the Young Greens of England and Wales, and has been heavily involved in the Federation of Young European Greens. Hubbard is currently serving as the Green Party’s international coordinator in a job share with Michal Chantkowski. Speaking to Bright Green, Hubbard explained that the pair wanted increase opportunities for members’ involvement in international activities. She said:

We want to make international a key to all aspects of the party. To do this we want to create opportunities for members to participate in international activities and offer training on how to run international projects and to represent the party at events such as European Green party councils.

Murray echoed these comments, stating a desire to demonstrate the party’s “commitment to internationalism. He said:

Despite Brexit we want to bring the party closer to our global green family and show commitment to internationalism. To do this we will organise webinars, zoom parties and chances for local parties to meet with international greens. We will bring the international green family to you by sharing news of green successes from around the world.

Among the other roles up for election on GPEx this year is the position of chair. The chair is a powerful position within the party, with its holder chairing meetings of GPEx, as well as serving on other key party bodies including the political committee.

Benjamin Smith and Ash Routh have announced their intention to stand as a job share for chair of GPEx. Smith has previously served as deputy leader of the Wales Green Party, and Routh is a Green Party activist from Sheffield.

In a joint statement, Smith and Routh told Bright Green of their desire to improve accountability and transparency within the party. They said:

We’re standing because we think we need better representation of young people and minorities on GPEx, further to this we both have a wealth of experience both from within the party and outside of it that make us confident we are very competent prospective Co-Chairs. We also think that there are areas in which we’re failing to be fair, transparent and accountable in how we operate, and we need people focused on changing that. We’re both in industries hit hard by the Covid Crisis. We’d like to use these experiences to help shape the Green Recovery.

In addition to these, other members have expressed they are considering standing in the elections. These include London Assembly candidate Peter Underwood and former internal communications coordinator on GPEx Jack Lenox. As of yet, no candidates have announced their intention to stand for the position of either leader or deputy leader.

The full list of positions to be elected on GPEx this year is as follows:

  • Leader
  • Deputy Leader
  • Chair
  • Campaigns Co-ordinator
  • Elections Co-ordinator
  • External Communications Co-ordinator
  • Management Co-ordinator
  • International Co-ordinator
  • Policy Development Co-ordinator
  • Publications Co-ordinator
  • Trade Union Liaison Officer

PS. Bright Green has big plans for the future, but we need your input. Take 2 minutes to see what we’re planning and tell us your thoughts.

Editor’s note: This article initially claimed that nominations for GPEx close on June 1. In fact, nominations for the GPEx elections open on June 1. The article was updated at 19:05 on 28 May 2020 to correct this.