Tina Rothery and Alison Teal

There are now three candidates in the running to be the new chair of the Green Party of England and Wales Executive (GPEx). Tina Rothery and Alison Teal announced their candidacy on a job-share ticket after nominations closed at 12pm today.

Rothery and Teal join two other candidates in the race. Jon Nott announced he’s standing for the position this morning, and another job-share team – that of Ash Routh and Melanie Earp – launched their bid on June 20.

Both Rothery and Teal are high profile figures in the Greens.

Rothery came to prominence as an anti-fracking campaigner at Preston New Road in Lancashire. She later went on to unsuccessfully contest the 2021 Green Party leadership election alongside Martin Hemingway, receiving 3 per cent of first preference votes. Rothery is also currently co-chair of Green Party Women.

Teal, meanwhile, was a Councillor in Sheffield for six years. During her time as a Councillor, she attracted significant attention as a result of her campaigning against the felling of trees in the city. After the Greens went into administration with Labour and the Liberal Democrats following the 2021 local elections, Teal became a cabinet member for sustainable neighbourhoods.

Rothery and Teal have said that they are “dedicated to ensuring the Green Party of England and Wales is the political and campaigning party that is needed for the environmental and social challenges we all face.”

Their launch statement also says the party has “radical plans to Green the economy, and socialist credentials as proponents of the re-nationalisation of the railways”.

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:

Members will vote in the GPEx elections throughout the summer. The elections are being held concurrently with an election for deputy leader.

Tina Rothery and Alison Teal have been approached for comment.

*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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