Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley face competition for Green party leadership

The Greens’ incumbent leadership duo of Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley are facing competition from two other candidates to remain in their post, as the party prepares for its two-yearly programme selecting its top officials.

Berry and Bartley will be overwhelming favourites to win again, after they won almost 75% of members’ votes in 2018, taking over from the previous leadership combination of Bartley and Caroline Lucas.

During their first stint in the job, which involves leading the party in England and Wales, Berry and Bartley oversaw highly successful local and European elections in May, and an increased vote share in December’s general election.

Also standing to be leader is Shahrar Ali, a former deputy leader of the Greens, who came second in the 2018 contest.

The other candidate is Rosi Sexton, a Green councillor in Solihull. The former mathematician and elite-level mixed martial arts fighter now works as an osteopath.

Bartley and Berry are also both councillors, in London. Berry is also a member of the London assembly, and is the party’s candidate for the London mayoral elections, postponed from May due to coronavirus.

Lucas, the party’s sole MP and still its best-know figure, spent two years as joint leader with Bartley, but decided in 2018 to step back, in part to focus on her Brighton Pavilion constituency, but also to spread the focus to other people in the party.

Lucas became the Greens’ first leader in 2008 after the party dropped its previous system of two “principal speakers”. She was replaced as leader by Natalie Bennett in 2012, but returned in 2016, alongside Bartley.

The Greens re-elect their leader, deputy leader and a series of other senior posts every two years.

Amelia Womack, who has been joint and then sole deputy leader since 2014, is standing for another term in the post. She is also the favourite to win against five other candidates, among them Cleo Lake, a Bristol councillor and former lord mayor of the city. The other candidates are James Booth, Andrea Carey Fuller, Nick Humberstone and Tom Pashby.

Hustings will take place this month, with members able to vote from 3-31 August, and the result announced soon afterwards.

Bennett, who is now a Green peer, said: “I’m proud to see such a strong and diverse group of candidates ready to build further on the growing strength of the Green party, following record-breaking European and council elections last year and a strong performance in the general election.”