These could be the next Green MPs
The Green Party of England and Wales launched its general election campaign yesterday. Among the things we learnt from it was that the party is still focussed on winning four seats in the House of Commons. So who are these four?
1. Sian Berry
Sian Berry is the Green Party’s candidate in Brighton Pavilion – the only constituency the Greens have ever won. Caroline Lucas held Brighton Pavilion in the 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections, and Berry is looking to keep the seat Green for the fifth election in a row.
Berry was the party’s co-leader from 2018-21 and has a long history in the party. She was a Green member of the London Assembly between 2016 and 2024 and has stood three times for Mayor of London.
Throughout her political career, Berry has frequently campaigned for more sustainable and affordable transport, and for improvements in housing – particularly stronger rights for private tenants.
2. Carla Denyer
Carla Denyer is standing for the Greens in Bristol Central, where the party won every council seat that make up the constituency in this year’s local elections.
Denyer is one of Berry’s successors as co-leader of the Green Party, and served as a Councillor in Bristol for 9 years from 2015-2024. During her time as a Councillor, Denyer successfully brought a motion to declare a climate emergency, making Bristol City Council the first local authority in the UK to do so.
In the 2019 general election, Denyer stood for the Greens in the old Bristol West constituency, coming second with 24.9% of the vote. Although Bristol Central is a new seat, it is broadly the successor to Bristol West which was held by Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire in 2019.
3. Adrian Ramsay
In Waveney Valley, Adrian Ramsay is contesting for the Green Party. Waveney Valley is another new constituency which includes some of the Mid Suffolk Council area, where the Greens won an overall majority in the 2023 local elections. While there is no obvious constituency that it succeeds, the area has historically voted strongly for the Tories.
Ramsay is Denyer’s fellow party co-leader and has been a major figure in the Greens for well over a decade. He served as the party’s first ever deputy leader from 2008-2012 and as a Councillor in Norwich from 2003-2011. At the time of his initial election, he was one of the youngest Councillors in the country.
Ramsay previously worked as the Chief Executive of the Centre for Alternative Technology from 2014-2019.
4. Ellie Chowns
Ellie Chowns is standing for the Greens in North Herefordshire. Chowns stood in the seat – which has had only minor boundary changes – in 2019. She came fourth, picking up just shy of 10% of the vote, with the Tories winning.
Chowns was an MEP for 9 months from the 2019 European Parliament elections until the UK formally left the European Union in January 2020. During her time as an MEP, Chowns was arrested at a protest seeking to allow Extinction Rebellion demonstrations to continue.
Chowns is currently the Green Party’s housing spokesperson and previously served as Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for Environment and Economy during the period that the Greens jointly ran the Council with independents. While in the Council’s cabinet, Chowns told Left Foot Forward that one of the Greens’ achievements was instigating free bus travel across the county on weekends.
Chowns is an international development expert and has worked as a lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Kelly Hill – Creative Commons / Public Domain / Public Domain / West Midlands Green Party – Creative Commons
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