Nick Humberstone has entered the contest to replace Amelia Womack.
Nominations closed in the Green Party’s deputy leadership election on June 30, with a full list of candidates expected to be published by the party over the weekend.
In the meantime, Left Foot Forward- jointly with Bright Green – can exclusively reveal that a fourth candidate has entered the race. Nick Humberstone – who stood for the deputy leadership previously in 2020 – is once again standing for the role.
When Humberstone stood for the deputy leadership last time, he came fifth and received 4.3 per cent of the first preference vote. Since then, he has been a target candidate for the Greens in the local elections in Lewisham, coming less than 200 votes short of being elected to the Council in 2022. Prior to that, Humberstone served on the Young Greens Democracy and Accountability Committee.
Speaking on his candidacy, Humberstone told Left Foot Forward he wanted to provide “ambitious leadership” in order to get more Green MPs elected. He said, “The success of the Green Party is essential for building a society that works for everyone. We have had great results in local elections year after year, showing that communities can and do believe that we are the best people to represent them. But we need to convert that momentum into getting MPs elected too. We need to be bold, loud, and confident that the future we’re promising is the best way forward. We need ambitious leadership to deliver that outcome. Leadership that I am confident I can deliver.”
Humberstone went on to say that his experience of campaigning in Lewisham meant he was well placed to deliver this. He told Left Foot Forward, “I was the lead organiser and candidate for the Lewisham local and mayoral election campaigns this May. I have direct experience and a strong understanding of our target-to-win strategy, with experience of all individual elements that make it up.
“In the local elections, we came just 120 votes short, but increased our vote share across all three candidates in the election significantly. In the Mayoral election, we increased our vote share by 5.6% and moved from 3rd place to 2nd, displacing the Conservatives.”
Humberstone joins three other candidates that have publicly announced their intention to stand. Zack Polanski – a member of the London Assembly – was the first to announce. He was followed by Hackney Green Party’s Tyrone Scott. And finally, Shahrar Ali – a former deputy leader from 2014-16 – announced he was standing on the day nominations closed.
Earlier this year, Amelia Womack confirmed she would not be seeking re-election for the deputy leadership post, having served in it for eight years.
Green Party members will vote in the deputy leadership election throughout the summer. Elections for the deputy leadership of the party take place every two years.
This article was jointly published with Bright Green.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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