A poster reading "Vote Green Party" on the back of a chair

I’ve faced a lot of challenges in my life. But I’ve also had a lot of support — and it’s brought me to where I am now. I had two parents (three, really) who were politically active, in activism, in trade unions and solidarity campaigns, in local government organisations like the then LGIU. They were always tuned into the news — reflecting, learning, and open to changing their minds. I think that’s a core part of what it means to be political.

I grew up in a rough part of London and saw first hand how injustice works. Despite saying I wanted to be Prime Minister when I was 10, I stayed away from formal politics for a long time. It didn’t feel like a space where real change could happen — not for people like me.

Later, I was working full time in admin at a busy London A&E department, studying social science part-time, navigating long-term illness, and pregnant with my daughter (now 16). Policy interested me — but it often felt academic, detached, and inaccessible. I chose to focus instead on grassroots work, community organising, and building systems that met people where they were. I trained in counselling skills as a volunteer for Victim Support. I worked as a carer. I ended up in council housing, commuting across the city to keep my daughter in her school and seeing her friends.

I’ve always been someone who sees problems and tries to solve them. I’ve constantly had to figure things out — often without support — and I’ve used that drive to make things better for myself and those around me. At one point, I helped launch a social impact network with the Royal Society of Arts, supporting their change-makers across the African diaspora. My role was to listen, to build the right tools, and to create something sustainable that could grow without me. That’s the kind of work I value. Eventually, I joined the Green Party. I wanted to get closer to politics again.

I wanted to be part of politics that felt rooted in justice and aligned with my values, something transparent, and more inclusive than traditional politics. I was co-opted onto the Policy Development Committee (PDC) for the Green Party, and I began supporting our Policy Working Groups (PWGs). These are volunteer-led spaces where members write and revise the party’s policy – the framework that shapes how we campaign, govern, and respond to the world around us.

My work has mostly been about listening, learning, and supporting. I’ve spent over 18 months mapping the systems, building relationships, and gathering information — to understand the process, and to understand the people in it. What I’ve seen is both inspiring and frustrating.

Inspiring has been the commitment and care so many members bring. People working long hours to meet a deadline. Convenors step up to keep their groups going. Members with professional and lived expertise offer so much time and energy to get things right.

Frustrating has been the lack of support, clarity, or infrastructure to make any of it sustainable.

I’ve had hours of one-to-one conversations helping PWGs navigate tech that doesn’t serve them. I’ve watched participation drop due to tech issues.

I’ve seen documents go out of date, people excluded due to lack of support, and the same frustrations repeated across different groups.

We need a consistent, well documented process. We need accessible guides. We need a shared understanding of what “good policy” looks like — how to write it, how to review it, and how to prepare it for conference where it gets voted on and passed. For me, good policy is informed by experience, and shaped by the people it affects. It’s built to be used — not just read. We need to offer clarity on the various ways to get policy passed. We want to prevent groups from working in isolation, and from having to jump through multiple hoops last minute. New contributors are often left guessing, and people are often given information too late to check the boxes they need in order to pass good policy.

There’s also a deeper issue. Too much knowledge lives in people’s heads. Too many relationships happen behind closed doors. Too many people are left out — not because they don’t care, but because the path in isn’t clear. That’s the difference I want to make. That’s how I think about this role: as a bridge and as someone to facilitate and support.

To bring people together and to make sure everyone can contribute and that we can improve our systems. Here’s where I want to start:

  • Accessible tools and guides – Plain English support for PWGs — not jargon or legalese, with clear flows and guidelines.
  • Sustainable systems – So we’re not rebuilding from scratch every few years.
  • Equity in our process – Making space for lived experience and underrepresented voices to shape policy early and meaningfully.
  • Making space for more collaboration and to ensure clear paths to success – I want policy to be grounded in real life.

The good news is: we can definitely improve our policy making and hopefully enjoy it more.

We already have members with great ideas and experience. We have councillors and MPs keen to shape local action and bring Green values and policy into the spotlight. We already have policy volunteers doing incredible and valuable work.

We need a coordinator who can support what already exists, and help it flourish.

That’s what I will do. If we want to win people’s trust, gain members and win voters then our policies need to speak to their lives. Our policy needs to be clear, practical, and to make a real difference. Policy that reflects our bold values and give us the tools to deliver social and environmental justice.

Let’s build a policy process that works for everyone — and helps bring Green values to life in parliament, councils, communities, and campaigns. Let’s make it relevant, accessible, and responsive to the world we live in.

Hannah Tucker McLellan is a candidate for the Green Party’s policy development coordinator

Image credit: Jon Craig – Creative Commons