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North Staffs Green Party has given its backing to the party’s newly elected leadership team of Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.
A spokesperson said, “in Carla and Adrian party members from across the country including those in North Staffordshire have chosen a leadership team who will grow the green voice in UK politics at the time when it has never been more needed”.
Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay beat their closest rivals in the leadership election Amelia Womack and Tamsin Omond by 6273 votes to 3902.
The new leaders take over at a time when the Green Party has increased both its number of
councillors, Greens are now play a role in running 14 councils, and their standing in national polling, currently 9%.
Carla Denyer is a Green councillor in Bristol and is parliamentary candidate for the Bristol West seat; Adrian Ramsey is a former Deputy Leader and has worked as CEO for and environmental charity.
At the announcement of the election result Denyer said “We are at a crucial moment in history and it is clear that the other major political parties have failed to bring about the change that is necessary. More than ever before, it is vital that Green policies are adopted for the benefit of our climate and our communities”.
Adrian Ramsay said, “Our country is in crisis - pumps running out of petrol, empty shelves in supermarkets and millions heading into winter fearing rising fuel bills. All worsened by our society’s addiction to fossil fuels”.
Adding that, “More than ever, we need strong Green voices to make the compelling case for a Green transition, a just transition”.
Carla Denyer told The Guardian they would be use their experience to build on the party’s successes and to professionalize its approach to campaigning, saying, “We’re looking to build on that, and to bring in my and Adrian’s experience of winning elections, and that professionalising force.”
Also speaking to The Guardian, Adrian Ramsay spoke about their shared experience of winning elections and representing communities on a wide range of issues, saying that going forward “It’s about taking our distinctive agenda and seeing how we can apply that to people’s everyday lives”.
A spokesperson for North Staffs Greens said, “we look forward to working with the new leadership team to highlight the threats to green spaces across the county and the injustices that have been made all the worse by the impact of the pandemic”.
The election of a new leadership team marks a pivotal point in the ongoing development of the Green Party as a political force. Successes for the party that have seen it join government in countries including Scotland and Germany are distant, but not impossible targets to aim for.
As Carla Denyer said in her acceptance speech “this is now where the hard work begins, to elect more MPs and more councillors across the country. It is only by doing this that we can make the difference we all so desperately want to see”.