Carla Denyer announces she will not stand again as Green party co-leader

Carla Denyer has announced she will not stand again as co-leader of the Green Party in order to focus on her work as an MP.

The Bristol Central MP was one of four Greens elected to Parliament in last year’s general election, the best result the party has ever had at Westminster.

Adrian Ramsay, Ms Denyer’s co-leader, will now have to decide whether he will stand with another co-candidate in the upcoming internal elections.

The double ticket could not be filled by another man, as the Green Party’s rules mean two co-candidates cannot be of the same gender.

Mr Ramsay, the MP for Waveney Valley, already faces a surprise competitor in the upcoming Green Party leadership election, which will be held over the summer.

Zack Polanski, the party’s deputy leader and a member of the London Assembly, has announced a leadership bid, which he told the Guardian would be focused on transforming the Greens into an “eco-populism” mass movement.

The party also needs to be more “bold”, he told the newspaper.

Announcing her decision not to seek re-election as co-leader, Ms Denyer said: “For me, my guiding light has always been ‘How can I make the biggest positive impact?’.

“And I’ve decided that for the next few years, the best way I can serve the party and the country is to pour all of my skills, passion and energy into being the best MP I can be, in Parliament and in Bristol Central.

“We’re at a critical juncture in British politics. People are feeling deeply let down and are looking for real alternatives.

“And with the hard-right on the rise in the UK and across the world, it’s never been more important for Greens to offer a genuinely hopeful vision for our future – and crucially to put forward real solutions to make people’s lives better.”

She said she would focus on issues like rent controls, moves to “futureproof British industry to secure good green jobs for this generation and the next”, and to “replace the racism and xenophobia at the heart of our migration system with common sense and compassion”.

The Greens usually hold leadership elections every two years, but an internal poll has not been held since 2021.

That year, an out-of-sequence election was held, and Ms Denyer and Mr Ramsay were elected for a three-year term.

The party did not go ahead with an election in 2024, as it would have coincided with the general election.

Nominations for the election open at the start of June, and a ballot will be held throughout August.