Here we are again with the annual ballot for elections to the Green Party Executive (commonly known as GPEx) around the corner and all the candidates have been announced. Each year we elect about half of the members of GPEx on a 2 year term with the other half of members being elected the following year, including the leadership of the party. This year we have Local Party Support Co-ordinator, Finance Co-ordinator, Internal Communications Co-ordinator, Policy Development Co-ordinator and Publications Co-ordinator. For a full list of candidates you can read the article here on Bright Green. Bright Green also have articles interviewing the candidates and I'm sure they'll have more coming out. There are also 5 positions on the Policy Development Committee being elected. There will be several hustings throughout July and voting takes place in August with the results being announced in September.
I will be listing below all of my recommendations for this election. I have to say I haven't felt this excited about a GPEx election for a fair few years. We have more progressive, inclusive and elections focussed candidates and fewer candidates for whom I am unwilling to vote for than ever before. There's 2 sides to every position that I look at when choosing to endorse candidates: candidates who will make the right political decisions while on GPEx (both in terms of political policy and political strategy), and candidates with experience in the areas of responsibility of the position they have stood for. Given that GPEx is a body that makes important political decisions for the party I believe it's critical that we elect candidates with the right politics. All of the candidates I am endorsing are supportive of trans rights and if elected will fight transphobia in the party where they can. But it's also important that we elect candidates with the relevant skills and experience, and I believe we have some really talented candidates this year.
It's worth noting that Jonathan Bartley has just announced that he will be stepping down as co-leader at the end of July. From that point Sian Berry will become acting leader for the party, and a new election for both leader and deputy leader will then take place. The timescale for that election is yet to be published but it is most likely to take place in the Autumn this year. Given that no candidate has been announced for that election I will not be discussing the leadership election here but will make a separate post when all the candidates have been announced.
Finance Co-ordinator
The role of Finance Co-ordinator is effectively the role of treasurer of the party. It's a really important role and it is one of 2 posts that are being elected unopposed this year. That being said, I am more than happy to endorse Jon Nott for this position.
Jon Nott
Jon Nott has been a member of the Green Party for over 15 years now. He was first elected to GPEx in 2006 when he was elected as Publications Coordinator. He has been the Finance Co-ordinator since 2018 and has been doing a fabulous job. In his professional career he has financial experience working for various coops and not-for-profit organisations. Jon has always been a big supporter of green causes and currently is Chief Executive for Woodcraft Folk and also works for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.
Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator
Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator is a very important position for which I feel we need a change. As a party I feel that for years we have been performing poorly when it comes to equality and diversity issues. This is partly a personal issue and partly it is because our organisational and governance systems are not fit for purpose and need a major overhaul. For this election I will be enthusiastically endorsing Ashley Routh for this position.
Ashley Routh
Last year Ashley Routh stood unsuccessfully for the post of chair of GPEx as a job share along side Benjamin Smith. She is currently co-chair of LGBTIQA+ Greens and in my opinion is doing and excellent job co-chairing that group. Ashley is committed to including voices from all the liberation groups, be that LGBTIQA+, people of colour, disabled people, religious groups, animal rights or other members of oppressed groups into all aspects of GPEx work and wider Green Party work. She wants to make the party accessible to all and that means not making any group of people feel unwelcome in the party. This will involve in part reforming how conferences and policy formation operate and ensuring consultation with liberation groups throughout. Please vote for Ashley for Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator.
Internal Communications Co-ordinator
Internal Communications Co-ordinator is a role that I have wanted to see a change in for a long while and I am happy that we will get to see a change this year. There is only really one candidate I can support in any way and that is Alexander Sallons who gets my full support.
Alexander Sallons
Alexander Sallons, from Brighton and Hove Green Party has some big plans for what he would like to do if elected to the role of Internal Comms. His plans involve investing in effective ways to campaign that will ultimately assist in winning elections. This includes video content and creating a network of creatives (ie people with skills to create content) in the party. It includes training to local parties on effective internal communications. Alexander also wants to overhaul the party's online resources such as websites and emails so that they are fit for purpose to allow for resources to go where they are most useful. Also fewer emails and an email calender that local parties, regional parties, liberation groups and campaign groups within the party can feed into so the central party doesn't dominate everything. Alexander is really progressive on policy and is really elections focussed and would be an excellent addition to GPEx.
Publications Co-ordinator
Publications Co-ordinator is one of those roles that is a relic of a time when physical print publications were a major part of central party communications long before the internet became so dominant in everyone's lives. It is a role that is likely to be abolished when the party finally finishes reforming our governance structures. Other than coordinating the now online publication of Green World (which used to be a print magazine mailed 4 times per year to members) I'm not actually sure what this role involves. At any rate, we have 2 candidates standing as a job share who I would be ecstatic to see on GPEx.
Kathryn Bristow and Rachel Collison
Both of these candidates each bring so much to our party. Kathryn is the first trans woman to be co-chair of Green Party Women. Kathryn is also active in the committees of LGBTIQA+ Greens and Greens of Colour as well as being active in Bristol Green Party. Rachel has a lot of experience within the party, being a former co-chair of the Green Party Regional Council (GPRC), being a former business spokesperson for the party, and having stood in many elections including 2015 general election, 2016 London Assembly election and the 2019 European Parliament elections, all in London. Both Kathryn and Rachel are deeply engaged with central Green Party activity and regularly attend and contribute towards things like conference. Having these 2 amazing talented progressive women on GPEx would be a major boost for the party and a much needed step in the right direction.
Policy Development Co-ordinator
The Policy Development Co-ordinator does not develop policy, rather they shape and coordinate discussion around policy development. They do this in a few ways such as chairing the Policy Development Committee and advising on policy motions at conference including the accreditation process. Rather than making comment on the content of motions, they advise on technical issues such as evidence to support motions, how motions would work in terms of implementation, etc. They can also advise on gaps in policy and work with both the Policy Development Committee and the various Policy Working Groups in order to try and plug in those gaps by getting members to bring in policy motions to conference. Luckily we have had some excellent Policy Development Co-ordinators on GPEx and I am a fan of the incumbent who is restanding, Vix Lowthion.
Vix Lowthion
Vix Lowthion is standing unopposed in this election, but still worthy of an endorsement. Vix first came to national prominence when she beat Labour and came third in the 2015 general election in the Isle of Wight parliament constituency receiving 13.4% of the vote. At the 2017 general election which was a disappointing one for the party generally, Vix managed to increase the party's vote share to 17.3% and again coming in third place. For about 5 years now she has been the party's spokesperson on education. In 2019 she stood for the party's MEP list in the elections to the European Parliament for the South West region. Vix is also standing as a candidate for Policy Development Committee.
Local Party Support Co-ordinator
For Local Party Support Co-ordinator we have many candidates. 3 standing for the role solo and another 2 candidates standing as a job share. I have 2 endorsements for this role, with Rosie Rawle being my number one choice and the job share candidates of Daniel Laycock and Lyndsey McAteer being my second choice candidates. That's not to say that I won't be giving any preferences to the other candidates, but I need to do my research because they are both brand new to me.
Rosie Rawle
Rosie Rawle has just finished a few years as co-chair of the Young Greens in which she achieved a lot of good things and where I first came across her (although I am no longer a member of the Young Greens). Last year she got elected to the Green Party Women committee. At this May's local elections she was a target candidate for Oxford City Council and narrowly missed out on taking the second seat in the 2 seat ward for the Green Party, and also came second in the election to Oxfordshire County Council. This year she played an enormous in helping to elect a record number of Young Green councillors, organising action days across the country. Her experience both in running the Young Greens and as a target council candidate has demonstrated that she has a huge amount to offer the role of Local Party Support Co-ordinator. I would argue that Rosie is probably the most popular and possibly even well known of all the Young Greens co-chairs since I joined the party in 2010, being re-elected to the post not once but twice, more than anyone else that I am aware of. Rosie absolutely knows how to organise Green Party groups into effective election fighting machines. All of this is why she is my absolute number one choice for Local Party Support Co-ordinator.
Daniel Laycock and Lyndsey McAteer
Daniel Laycock is the current co-ordinator for the Eastern Region and Lyndsey McAteer is the leader of Warrington and Halton Green Party. I have know Lyndsey for many years through the North West Green Party. Last year I supported her unsuccessful attempt to become chair of the North West Green Party (as part of a job share). Daniel has a lot of experience through his regional work of assisting local parties to make electoral gains doing a superb job this year with many gains in the Eastern Region. In 2019 he ran an impressive general election campaign in Bury St Edmunds. They both engage with central party activity and I usually find myself on the same side as these two when it comes to policy discussion.
Those are all of my endorsements for this election. All I can ask now is that you consider all of my endorsements and go out to your local parties and speak to other members and get them to to out and vote. It's so important to get more members engaged in these elections and aware of who is running the central party. Voting opens in August and results get announced in September.
