Exclusive: Jon Nott to stand for chair of Green Party Executive
Nominations for the Green Party of England and Wales Executive (GPEx) elections close at 12pm today. With mere hours to go, Bright Green can exclusively reveal that Jon Nott is standing for the powerful position of chair. Nott is the second candidate to announce, with Ash Routh and Melanie Earp confirming their candidacy as a job-share on June 20.
Nott has an extensive background in the Green Party. He was the party’s first chief executive from 2008-10 and is currently the party’s finance coordinator. In his capacity as finance coordinator, he serves as the party’s treasurer and is also presently co-deputy chair of GPEx.
Outside of the Green Party, Nott’s background is in campaigning and youth-based organisations. He is a previous vice-chair of CND, was general secretary of the Woodcraft folk for eight years, and currently works as operations manager at Campaign Against the Arms Trade.
Nott’s campaign for chair is emphasising three clear priorities for the role. He is committing to reforming the party’s governance structures, ensuring the party is welcoming and inclusive, and increasing the resources available to elected representatives and target election candidates.
Speaking to Bright Green on his candidacy, Nott said,
To bring about the change that we, as Greens, want to see, we all need to play our part. And the role of GPEx is to lead by example in creating a welcoming and inclusive party that reflects and represents the communities we serve. We need to leverage our limited resources to seize the huge opportunities that exist to get more Greens elected and make a real difference in both our nations.
I believe that my experience in leading change in radical, member-driven campaigning organisations, combined with my life-long commitment to the party put me in a position to facilitate an effective GPEx in the run up to the next, crucial, General Election.
Nott’s candidacy has already secured support from influential figures in the Green Party’s ranks. Former co-leader of the party Siân Berry has described Jon as the ‘perfect chair’. She said,
In the Green Party I have worked with Jon on local campaigns, as staff, and on GPEx for over 15 years and, to me, his experience, commitment and values make him our perfect Chair.
The way he can lead meetings to make sure voices in debates are heard respectfully, while ensuring clear, strategic and democratic decisions are made and followed up, is exactly what the party needs right now.
Elections to GPEx take place every year, with half of the seats up for election.* Each elected post-holder serves for two years, and share collective responsibility for the party’s day to day management and financial health. In 2022, the positions up for election are:
- Chair
- Campaigns coordinator
- Elections coordinator
- External communications coordinator
- Management coordinator
- International coordinator
- Trade union liaison officer
In addition to the roles listed above, there will be a by-election for the position of internal communications coordinator. This is being held as a result of the resignation of Zoe Hatch in February 2022.
So far, the following candidates have publicly declared their intention to stand for GPEx:
- Chair – Ash Routh and Melanie Earp (job share), Jon Nott
- Management coordinator – Kefentse Dennis, Stacy Smith
- Internal communications – David Farbey
- Trade union liaison – Matthew Hull
- International coordinator – Elise Benjamin and Frank Sheridan (job share)
Nominations for these positions close at Midday on June 30, with members voting throughout the summer. The elections are being held concurrently with an election for deputy leader.
*Author’s note – the exception to this is for the position of Wales Green Party leader, and Young Greens co-chair. Both of these positions have a seat on GPEx, but are elected through the rules set out in each organisation’s constitution.
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