Political reporter
Jeff Overs/BBCCarla Denyer has announced she will not stand again as co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, saying she wants to focus on her role as an MP.
The MP for Bristol Central was one of four Greens elected in last year’s general election – the party’s best ever result.
She was elected by party members as co-leader alongside Adrian Ramsay in 2021.
On Monday current deputy leader Zack Polanski launched his leadership campaign, saying the party was sometimes “too polite” and needed to be “bolder”.
The Green Party of England and Wales normally elects co-leaders every two years but Ramsay and Denyer were initially elected for a three-year term, with members then voting not to choose new leaders in 2024 because of the general election.
Nominations for the next contest open on 2 June, with party members voting throughout August before the results are announced on 2 September.
Denyer said it had been “an enormous privilege” to serve as co-leader.
“We’ve achieved so much, taking the party from one MP to four, from 450 councillors to over 850, and winning nearly two million votes at the last general election. But this is just the start for me and the party,” she said in a statement.
“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 added: “In this new five-party political system it’s all to play for.”
Denyer was elected to Parliament for the first time last year, alongside Ramsay in Waveney Valley, Sian Berry in Brighton Pavilion and Ellie Chowns In North Herefordshire.
In a statement, Ramsay thanked Denyer for her “inspirational leadership”.
“Carla has done so much to prove we can take our values to the wider audience needed to win – and to give us the credible, Parliament-based leadership we need to win even bigger,” he said.
Polanski praised Denyer as “a brilliant leader”, who “cut through in 2024”.
“I know you’ll continue to champion human rights, climate action and be an excellent MP for Bristol,” the deputy leader said.
Launching his own leadership campaign on Monday, Polanski said the party needed to build a “mass movement” to counter Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
He told the BBC his party’s results in last week’s local elections had been “solid” but “incremental change can’t be the Green Party’s future”.
“It’s important we’re being really intentional about our challenge to power and excess wealth,” he said.
“We need to provide a real alternative to the two-party system and a real alternative to Reform.”
It comes after the Green Party increased its number of councillors for the eighth year in a row in last week’s local elections in parts of England.
The party had hoped to also build on its success in south-west England, where the Greens are the biggest party on Bristol City Council and Denyer is an MP.
However, it missed out in the West of England mayoral race, coming third behind Labour and Reform UK.
